A look at the career of the Welsh Potting Machine, Mark Williams
Mark ‘James’ Williams is known as one of the best single-ball potters ever seen in the game of snooker.
Due to his superb potting abilities he has earned himself nicknames like the Welsh Potting Machine and the Welsh Wonder. He has also been the world number one for three seasons in his career.
The 36-year-old Williams is only the fifth player in the all-time list to win 18 ranking tournaments including two World Championships in 2000 and 2003. He was also the first left-handed player to win the World Championship trophy. Moreover, he is also the
only third player behind Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis to win three full ranking events, UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship in a season.
The Welsh Wonder, who was born on 21 March, 1975 in Ebbw Vale, Wales, has won two World Championships, two UK Championships, two Welsh Opens, three China Opens, three Thailand Masters, and two Grand Prix. Moreover, he has also lifted the British Open, Irish
Open, German Masters, LG Cup and Scottish Open titles once in his career. He was also the runner-up in the 1999 World Championship where he lost his battle by a frame score of 11-18 to Stephen Hendry.
Williams has also compiled more than 250 century breaks, including two maximums, in his professional career and lies among the top 8 players in this case.
Williams started playing snooker at an early age. He won his first event when he was 11 years old and knocked his first century break at the age of 13. He was also a good amateur boxer in his school life but he decided to pursue his career in snooker and
with the support of his father he finally turned professional in 1992.
Apart from his other wonderful performances, he became the first Welshman ever 2005 World Championship and the fifth in the history to compile a maximum break of 147 at the Crucible Theatre.
Mark Williams is a player who is renowned for winning scrappy frames due to his cool nerves, tactical game and a habit of picking out shots to nothing. He is also known as one of the greatest long potters ever seen in the history of snooker.
The Welshman after so many years is still present in the game and is still on top of his game. He has also been in a tremendous form this season.
He won the PTC1 event in the start of this year’s season and finished in the top eight in the overall Order of Merit. He also won the German Masters title which was his first full ranking event of this season. Though he lost in the China Open, he produced
four magnificent century breaks in a best-of-nine frames match.
Let’s see how he fares in the remainder of the season.
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