It’s a rare sight in snooker to see Mark Williams overcome with emotion, but the Northern Ireland Open is becoming an event where we see just what this unbelievably difficult game means to the players.
A year ago it was Mark King who was close to tears as he realised a lifetime ambition of winning his first ever ranking event after more than 25 years plying his trade as a professional.
This time, it was one of the greats in Williams who was fighting to hold it all back as he captured a 19th ranking event title under extremely tough circumstances with his wife in hospital back home fighting illness.
This final nearly never went ahead after Williams received a phonecall the news shortly after his semi-final win against Elliot Slessor that his wife had been rushed to hospital by ambulance, but he stayed on to finish the job off with great courage and did it for his wife who not for the first time will have been proud of the Welshman.
For the fans in Belfast, they’ll be glad this match went ahead as it turned into a classic and arguably the best final of the season so far. Williams trailed Yan Bingtao all the way until it mattered most when he edged over the line to win 9-8.
Williams was not at the races in the first session, perhaps with his mind pre-occupied with other more important matters. But from 6-3 down, he was brilliant and showed that while his young rival is a fine prospect with many great moments ahead of him, experience is still a lethal weapon at this level.
This win for Williams denied his opponent a slice of snooker history as Yan had the opportunity to become the sport’s youngest ever ranking event winner, but in the end it felt as if Williams deserved this moment and another glory, glory night to mark his incredible contribution to the game.
For those of you who have been following the sport since the mid to late-1990s and into the early-2000s, you’ll know just how good Williams really was in his heyday. By the end of the season in 2003, he was the holder of all three of the Triple Crown events (World Championship, UK Championship and The Masters) and was playing snooker to a level which was almost unbeatable.
The game is not quite so easy for Williams these days but he’s been playing good stuff this season and is now comfortably back in amongst the world’s top 16.
Despite all these plaudits, this weekend’s events gave a timely reminder that there’s more to life than sport. While Williams might walk away from this tournament with the trophy in his hands, his return to Wales to see his wife is all that matters right now and he can do that with his head held high.
