Mark Williams through to the last 16
Mark Williams beat the world number two Ali Carter 3-1 in the World Open Championship in Glasgow to book his place in the last 16 of the competition.
The first frame was a scrappy low scoring affair with neither player capable of making a break in one visit. Williams visited the table four times and could only manage a break of 27, but this was enough to clinch the first frame in the end.
Williams took a 2-0 lead despite being 48-12 behind. The Welshman held his nerve to make a break of 43 to put Carter under severe pressure.
The Englishman rallied in the next frame and looked to have taken the frame with a fantastic break of 72. However, Williams didn’t give up and managed to equal Carter’s break by clearing the table with a wonderful 72 of his own. This meant that the black
was re-spotted and Carter, the Roewe Shanghai Masters Champion potted the black to clinch the frame. This looked like a crucial turning point in the match for Carter who was struggling to finish off frames.
However, in the final frame the world number two didn’t have the chance to stage a comeback. Williams responded to Carter’s challenge with the highest break of the match. The Welshman built up a break of 95 to win the best of five frames match.
Williams appears to be confident and is playing some wonderful snooker at the moments. After the match the former World Champion said, “Every time I was in the balls, I felt as if I was going to make a decent break.”
Carter will be disappointed to be out of the tournament at this early stage. The world number two may drop down a place if the current World Champion Ian Robertson can progress in the tournament. The match was always going to be a difficult one for Carter
who was playing one of the highly tipped outsiders in the competition. Williams is a world class match player and is always a competitive player that is difficult to beat.
Mark Williams has the pedigree to go on and win the World Open. He has twice won the World Championship and it has been surprising that he has struggled over the past few years. The player has shown glimpses of the form that made him the world number one
this season and no one will want to play the Welshman in the last 16.
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