There aren’t many greater sights in snooker than seeing Mark Williams at his free-flowing best.
Those of us who had thought this was a pleasure banished to the history books might now be thinking again this season as the Welshman continues to roll back the years in quite spectacular fashion.
His ruthless 9-1 demolition of Graeme Dott to capture the German Masters title was an almost perfect performance; one reminiscent of his heyday in the early 2000s. His shot-making hit the kind of levels equal to him at his very best.
Williams has now won two ranking titles this season following his triumph at the Northern Ireland Open just before Christmas; a feat he last achieved in 2003.
It is a remarkable turnaround for a player who came agonisingly close to packing in the game after years of feeling unable or not well enough equipped to reach anywhere near the lofty standards he had reached earlier in his career.
His engagement with the Sight Right snooker coaching methods has helped him to make adjustments to his technique and perhaps even mentally just get back to basics and start a new slate. It has rejuvenated his game and seen him establish himself as one of the real powerhouses of the sport this season.
As well as his two titles, he has reached eight quarter-finals and has stormed up to seventh place in the world rankings – as well as second to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the one-year ranking list.
Ronnie himself has won three ranking titles this season and the other class of 1992 prodigy John Higgins has also chalked up one. Between them, the legends have won six titles and are stealing a march on the younger generation of players who just don’t look good enough to dislodge them from the top of the game.
It’s important not to underestimate just how well Williams played in Berlin this week. He tore through the field barely troubled winning his semi-final and final at an aggregated score of 15-2. He was completely untouchable.
There is absolutely no doubt that Williams has now emerged as a very serious contender for a third World Championship title when we kick-off at The Crucible in April. He must surely be among a group of five or six players who are the most likely winners.
Having not even qualified through to Sheffield last year, this statement alone shows just how far Williams has come and as he gets the flavour of winning titles again, his winning instinct will just get stronger and stronger.
