By Elliott West
Introduction
It may have only have been day 1 of the Masters but in the first-afternoon match, we were treated to an exciting clash between the reigning Masters champion, Yan Bingtao and Mark Williams. With pundits saying prior to the match that Yan may not cope with a live audience, having won his title last year behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes due to Covid-19 restrictions. Mark Williams had already been struggling from the effects of Long Covid, causing extreme lethargy and had dismissed a tweet from Indyclone77 to a Dave Hendon post who felt he could win the title, replying “No chance, I’m afraid”.
The Match
Yan Bingtao was the dominant force in the early frames of this match, racing into a 3-1 lead. However, the Chinese player wasn’t prepared for what was to follow with Williams producing a spellbinding comeback. Before you could blink, Mark had already brought the match back to a 4-3 lead, including potting a divine pink from behind the black, one-handed, a shot that has already been played across many social media platforms multiple times.
Bingtao was courageous for producing a 122 break after Williams had sunk a 104 clearance in the previous frame but wasn’t able to close the gap any further. At 5-4, was swept away by the Williams tide and in the end, lost a battle he could have won 6-4.
Afterthought
This was a match that everything in it, attacking play, heavy scoring, snookers and an attack of a bee and multiple flies on the table. Mark Williams seems to have found his groove early on in this tournament and his hours of practice with his good friend Lee Walker seem to be paying off. Moving forward, I don’t think you will be seeing Mark dozing again in his chair and could be a potential front runner in the competition even though there have only been two matches played
With Bingtao and McGill now dispatched, Mark’s future still remains uncertain and must make his way through a maze of matches that involve simply the best players. Let’s hope he can produce a few more flukes, to kickstart his game because he produces snooker like that again, he will make mincemeat out of any opponent.
Mark has fallen in love with Alexandra Palace and now rates it as the best venue, describing it as “outstanding” and outstripping his previous favourite of the Wembley Conference Centre. He has even touted the idea that maybe the Masters should be extended to 128 players so they can experience the magic of the venue. Mark now has a day off and will be playing golf if it is not raining, returning to play either John Higgins or Zhao Xintong next. Although he would rather play John as he describes themselves as both being “older, greyer and balder”, producing a clash similar to “the Crucible back in 2018”.
