Mark Williams leads Shaun Murphy 7-1 after the first session of the Xi’an Grand Prix final in China. The contest resumes at 7.30pm local time (12.30pm BST) with first to ten frames to lift the trophy and bank the £177,000 first prize.
Murphy came into the final at the top of his game having won his last 13 consecutive matches, and fired nine centuries so far during this event, including three over 130 during his semi-final defeat of Gary Wilson. Williams, by contrast, insisted after beating Daniel Wells in the semis that his game had been “pretty poor” for most of this week and he felt he could be “trampled” in the final. But in fact the veteran Welshman has controlled today’s contest so far and is just three frames away from the title.
Williams took the opening frame with a break of 75, then came from 44-12 down to take the second with a run of 73. Then next two followed a similar pattern as Murphy had frame-winning opportunities but couldn’t convert, and Williams took advantage with clearances of 56 in the third and 68 in the fourth for 4-0.
After the interval, Murphy got one on the board with a run of 69, but Williams got the better of a scrappy sixth for 5-1 then dominated the last two of the session with runs of 59, 55 and 127 to extend his advantage.
At the age of 50 years and 206 days, Williams is aiming to become the oldest winner of a ranking event, a record currently held by Ray Reardon who was 50 years and 14 days when he landed the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. Welshman Williams could also become the first player to win a title in every decade from his teens through to his 50s.
The three-time World Champion is playing in the 44th ranking final of his 33-year career and aiming for a 27th title, which would leave him just one behind Steve Davis in sixth place on the all-time list. He will remain world number five if he loses today while victory would move him above Ronnie O’Sullivan into fourth spot.
Murphy is playing in his 28th ranking final and looking for a 14th title, which would leave him just one behind Ding Junhui, in tenth place on the all-time list. Having won the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham 15 days ago, Murphy could become the first winner of consecutive ranking titles since Judd Trump took three in a row in October 2023. The 43-year-old Englishman would be the 14th player in snooker history to win back-to-back ranking crowns.
Currently 12th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, Murphy will move to ninth if he loses today’s final and seventh if he wins.
Murphy has won ten of their 17 previous meetings, notably a 10-9 success in the final of the 2019 China Championship. He’ll need to win nine of the last 11 frames tonight to repeat that scoreline.
Mark Williams became the oldest ever winner of a ranking event as he thrashed Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix in China.
An unexpectedly one-sided final saw Murphy, the form player having won 13 consecutive matches, completely outplayed as Williams made two centuries and eight more breaks over 50 in a superb display.
Back in 1982, Ray Reardon won the Professional Players Tournament 14 days after his 50th birthday to become the oldest ranking event champion, and this record stood for 43 years. Williams – a close friend of fellow Welshman Reardon who passed away last year – has now set a new record at the age of 50 years and 206 days.
The left-hander from Cwm becomes the first player to win a title in every decade from his teens through to his 50s. He now has 27 ranking titles, in sixth place on his own on the all-time list, one ahead of Neil Robertson and one behind Steve Davis.
Most Career Ranking Titles
All-Time Top Ten
Ronnie O’Sullivan 41 Stephen Hendry 36 John Higgins 33 Judd Trump 30 Steve Davis 28 Mark Williams 27 Neil Robertson 26 Mark Selby 24 Ding Junhui 15 Shaun Murphy 13
Though he may not be as dedicated to practice as he once was, Williams remains a fierce competitor on the baize, renowned for his cool temperament. He was runner-up at the World Championship last season, beaten in the final by Zhao Xintong, but has regularly picked up silverware in recent years, notably at the Tour Championship and Champion of Champions in 2024. Now he has another huge title to his name and the £177,000 top prize moves him above Ronnie O’Sullivan to fourth place in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings.
Murphy had hoped to win back-to-back ranking titles for the first time in his career, having won the Unibet British Open 15 days ago, and he looked at the top of his game in beating the likes of Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson to reach the final. But the 43-year-old Englishman was unable to convert chances into frame-winning breaks in the first session today and fell too far behind to mount a fight-back. He has now lost 15 of his 28 ranking finals, though the £76,000 runner-up prize lifts him from 12th in the world to ninth and comes with the bonus of a place in next month’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
Williams led 7-1 after the first session having made breaks of 75, 73, 56, 68, 59, 55 and 127. He started the second session in the same fashion with a run of 122, before Murphy briefly rallied by taking frame ten and then adding the 11th with a break of 93 for 8-3.
But Williams took the next with a run of 65, and when Murphy missed a tricky red with the rest on 15 early in frame 13, his opponent responded with 61. Williams soon got back in with an extra 22 to cross the winning line.
“I played really well from the first frame to the last,” said Williams, who won his first pro title at the Masters qualifying event in 1994 at the age of 19, and his first ranking title at the 1996 Welsh Open.
“I don’t think I missed more than a couple of easy balls all day. I put pressure on Shaun and he missed a couple of times from 50 in front, I made some good clearances and kept the pressure on. I think I made more frame-winning breaks today than I did in the whole tournament.
“I try my absolute hardest when I’m out there, trying to win every game. Of course I care, I want to win. But if I lose I don’t care, that’s no moaning or dwelling on it. If you beat yourself up when you lose, then you will struggle in this game. If more players took the same attitude they might see a bit of improvement.
“It’s amazing that I am still winning tournaments, I don’t know how I’m doing it because I am not practising enough to really compete in the later stages of tournaments. I try to play as much as I can while I’m at venues. And you have to scrape me off the table until the last ball is potted. Somehow the three of us in the Class of ’92 (along with John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan) are still going.“
Murphy said: “Congratulations to Mark, he’s a wonderful player and an all-time great, and today he played like one. He was very tough and the better man on the day. I missed a few shots and he punished me. His safety was good and his tactics were strong. I hate to lose, it’s very painful. I tried my best and that’s all I can ask. The fans were great, it was a great atmosphere, I’m just sorry I couldn’t do better.“
Nothing to add really. Mark Williams was amazing from start to finish and absolutely deserved the win.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 