3 weeks ago
5
MARK WILLIAMS left a Eurosport presenter stunned by tucking into a Chinese takeaway on a snooker table.
The star enjoyed his tasty meal during the first interval of his clash against Stuart Bingham at the UK Championship.
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X @eurosportWilliams, 49, was leading 3-1 after an impressive start.
And as pundits were analysing his perfomance, Eurosport coverage panned to the snooker ace unpacking his lunch delivery on one of the practice tables.
He was seen putting a takeaway bag onto a table and tucking into a dumpling.
Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya was stunned as he joked: “Breaking news, Mark Williams is currently having a Chinese dumpling from a local takeaway such as his nerves just to settle him down.”
However, the mid-match meal clearly did Williams no good as Bingham launched a stunning comeback.
The 48-year-old won five of the next seven frames to win 6-5 and reach the second round in York.
Fans did enjoy seeing Williams have his cheeky mid-match snack as they reacted on social media.
One posted: “Only Mark Williams could have a mid-session takeaway when comfortably leading against Stuart Bingham… …only to go and lose 6-5.”
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Another simply added: “Love Chinese food.”
After the defeat, Williams laid blame on the “tough conditions” at the tournament.
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
He said: “I thought he played really well to come back, how he made breaks in them conditions, I don’t know.
“‘I couldn’t have made any breaks out there if I was there all night and that’s why I lost.
“They were really tough conditions and he played better than me towards the end.
“It’s a bit disappointing because I’ve been practising all weekend up here playing quite good. The practice facilities are absolutely superb but it’s so tough out there.
“You could put me out there tonight, I could have ten line-ups on my own and I would never clear them up, ever.
“It’s tough, but it’s same for the both of us, you’ve just got to adapt.”
Meanwhile, one player who did not struggle with the conditions was China’s Zhang Anda as he hit a “perfect” 147.
He will be eligible for a £147,000 bonus if he hits another one at either the Masters of the World Snooker Championship this season.
Ronnie O’Sullivan fired a dig at the tour bosses for the raised bar.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
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