‘I could see it in his face’ – Mark Williams on how he beat ‘flawless’ Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Masters
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ByEurosport
Published 12/01/2023 at 19:17 GMT
Mark Williams said that Ronnie O’Sullivan was flawless during the opening exchanges of their quarter-final at the Masters, but added that he could see that O’Sullivan had begun to get a bit uptight as he applied pressure in the second session. Williams fought back from three frames down to win 6-5 in a brilliant Masters encounter at Alexandra Palace.
'I came back well and put pressure on him' - Williams discusses epic Masters win over O'Sullivan
Mark Williams has said that he could see that Ronnie O’Sullivan was getting “uptight” as he applied pressure to the seven-time Masters winner in their quarter-final match at Alexandra Palace.
O’Sullivan charged into a three-frame lead but Williams staged a dramatic fightback, eventually winning 6-5.
The Class of ’92 members may have brought in excess of 60 years of experience to the baize, but both offered up errors as the match drew to a conclusion. O’Sullivan missed a black off its spot in the deciding frame, but told Rachel Casey after that he felt relaxed in the closing stages of the match.
Talking in the Eurosport studio after the match, Williams told Radzi Chinyanganya, Alan McManus and Jimmy White that while O’Sullivan produced “flawless” snooker during the opening exchanges, Williams saw that he was getting uptight as he applied the pressure in the second session.
“I was three-nil down,” began Williams. “It was just brilliant and flawless stuff he played. I mean I'm a good safety player - pretty good – but he tied me up in knots. It was just perfect snooker
“I made a great 50 to win the fourth frame. I cut a lovely red in on the fourth frame to keep me in it.”
Williams added that O’Sullivan played "fantastic” in the first session, but he could see the seven-time Masters winner become "uptight” as the Welsh Potting Machine applied pressure as the match wore on.
"He played fantastic first session,” added Williams.
"But I came back well and put pressure on him and he started missing a couple of, not easy ones, but I could see in his face that he was starting to get a bit uptight and I thought, ‘oh come on you got a chance here’.
"He put the pressure on in the first session, and then I put it on him and I made a cracking century to finish it off.”
O’Sullivan had earlier told Casey that he "did not deserve to win" the match, adding it would have been a "travesty” had Williams not emerged victorious.
"I didn't deserve to win that match today,” said O'Sullivan.
"I didn't score well enough, Mark scored better. I got off to a good start, which gave me a chance to hang in there, but when you don't score you shouldn't really win at this level.
"The snooker gods have done the right thing, he deserved to win. So fair play to him. He deserved his victory. I was happy I made a bit of a fight of it. The snooker gods done the right thing today - it would have been a travesty if I'd have won that.”
Vafaei takes on Lisowski in Thursday's other quarter-final for the opportunity to face Williams for a spot in the final.
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