Paul MacInnes's report
So there we are ... but what the blithering heck are we going to do tomorrow? Any ideas, hit me up, but otherwise thanks for your company and comments - night-night.
Williams goes for a typically laconic one-armed lift, then gets set for some family photos.
Updated
Higgins collects his silver medal. His family look proud of him - I wonder what that feels like - and now here comes Williams to take the trophy!
Here’s Barry.
Hazel is fill of dirty tricks and goes for Kian, Williams’ youngest son. She then reminds Williams that he promised, if he won, to do his press conference in the nud. He agrees that he said he would, so he must.
Updated
Williams is as laconic as you’d hope and says Higgins is the best at clearing up that he’s ever seen. And he’s right to say that - Higgins was amazing in that aspect today. He says that last year he watched the final in a caravan with some beers, so Hazel goes for the kids, who weren’t even alive the last time he won here, in a bit to get some emotion. Williams, though, is having no such thing, but Jo his wife, is going for it like nobody’s business so Hazel goes for the low-hanging fruit and brings her out. Williams says she told him he couldn’t spend all day sitting about and now he’s looking forward to next season.
Higgins says unbelievable a lot, and notes that the red which starts the crucial run was “a joke”. He says he was worried he might lose with a session to spare, then hoped to put pressure on, but lost to an “unbelievable champion”.
This has been amazing. Mark Williams is amazing. John Higgins is amazing. Can Hazel make either of them cry?
MARK WILLIAMS IS CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! AT 43 YEARS OLD, 15 YEARS AFTER HE LAST WON THE TITLE!
He coaxes home a long red - beautifully - and what a match that was! What a tournament this has been! Snooker, yeah?!
Updated
There’s no way Higgins is getting three snookers....
Down it goes, except he then misses a brown after the next red and Higgins comes back to the table 70 behind with 59 left!
Williams has a tricky red to the middle that he glides home, but the angle on the black isn’t ideal. It goes down, but forces him to take on the toughest red down the rail ... just this black!
On 32, Williams has the angle to go into the pack off the blue and opts to do so gently. It’s hard to see him missing now, but it was hard to see him missing ten minutes ago.
Oh mate! Ohhhhhh maaaaaate! Williams, left on the top cushion, somehow strokes a red into the middle. Amazing! The crowd go wild and they’ve every right to go wild - the way the balls are, the way the match is, this is a chance.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a final in any sport that’s maintained a standard as high as this, from both players or teams. Feel free to suggest any I’ve missed, but usually the ascendancy of one means the descendancy* of the other.
*No that isn’t a word, but it is now.
Frame 34
Williams in in first with a long red, but finishes on nothing.
Williams nips out. Maybe to be sick. I feel sick. Steve says that he should’ve stunned the pink instead of playing for position
I’m spent. I have no idea what to do with myself. I’ve not seen many finals in any sport remotely like this. I am absolutely buzzing my arse off.
Higgins 16-17 Williams
GET ON YOUR FEET! CRY! LAUGH! SHOUT! SCREAM! DO SOMETHING!
In Williams’ box his wife has her heed in her hands - they thought it was done and it was ... except it wasn’t. Remorselessly, Higgins is trotting around the table - he’s making this look mortifyingly, inspiringly easy. Which it is for one of the greatest players ever to play the game, except if he misses he loses.
Immediately Higgins is away. I can barely feel my fingers, and these lads have got to perform the equivalent of microsurgery or whatever, or something.
Red and a colour needed now, and THERE’S THE RED! That’s a lovely pot, clipped into the top right ... BUT HE’S MISSED THE PINK PARALLEL TO THE TOP THE RAIL! HAVE A LOOK! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
Williams only has 20 and needs 69 to become champion of the world, but I think he’s going to do it. He is cueing beautifully, removing balls gently, but now has the angle on the blue to split the pack ... it’s not perfect but he’s on one, and here we go! He is bousting now, what a buzz this must be. Williams nearly chucked it all in a couple of years ago, but his wife persuaded him to have one last go and here we are! I’m feeling emotional, how in the name of lovemaking is he holding it down? He’s up to 57...
Higgins messes up a safety and Williams sends home a red, but dead thin so the white is now on the bottom cushion. The blue, though, is over the right middle, so the brea continues and yerman is cruising round the table like it’s nothing. It is not nothing.
Frame 33
Williams breaks nicely, forcing Higgins to leave the chwhite close to the top cushion.
Higgins 15-17 Williams
What a man! Williams rustles another century, the sixth of the final, and he’s nearly there!
Both these lads are unbelievable under pressure, but in different ways. Higgins is fighting and you can see aggression and testicles emanating from every pore. Williams, on the other hand, is oblivious, the same now as always. That’s why he’s about to go two up with three to play.
Williams is working this out well, but then finds himself in a difficult position with a red to the top left, black close to the road. Down it goes, then a pink, and he’s 36 ahead with 59 left.
Updated
Email chiding: “Watch hyperbole,” says Kola Cielencina. “Comebacks ... the awful unfolding of Jimmy in 94 as Hendry won 10 on the spin from 8-14 down!?........or that America’s Cup thing with Ben Ainslie..? Brilliant snooker this though....Needing two or indeed three frames is huge ... When are we going to get some Dott v Ebdon frames?..now that would be a late night!”
Outta here with your sailing, but the reason this woiuld be special is the standard of play maintained by both players during the period. Williams didn’t collapse like Jimmy did, Higgins just found a barely fathomable level.
...in it goes, and this is a chance!
Did Higgins relax when he drew level? He misses another pot he’s been making all night, and Williams doesn’t need asking twice. He’s back at the table and after a red and a pink, has a fine cut to the right middle...
Aaarrrgggh! Williams misses a tight pink into the middle - he’s used the pockets brilliantly this fortnight, but they’re beginning to forsake him now - and Higgins is automatically in. He’s making sure to pot everything and deal with any consequences as and when they arise, which seems a decent ruse.
Williams misses a pot but plays it as a shot to nothing. Higgins then leaves him another, and he attacks it with prejudice, sending it from above the blue spot into the the very middle of the top right. This is a chance to go one away, and what’s incredible about this match is that even when Higgins was on one, he maintained his equanimity.
“For my money, you can’t beat darts for drama,” says Greg Phillips. “But neither can you beat the last session of a close Crucible final for tension. Blimey. I’m just sitting at my desk, but this is exhausting to watch, in the best possible way.”
What you get with darts is the ability to see the action and reaction in the same shot; what snooker gives you is extended drama. If I may quote myself quoting Hitchcock on this point:
Alfred Hitchcock once explained that if two people are talking and a bomb explodes without warning, it constitutes surprise; but if two people are talking and all the while a ticking bomb is visible under the table, it constitutes suspense. “In these conditions,” he said, “The same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: ‘You shouldn’t be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!’”
Such is snooker. In more or less every break, there will at some point be at least one difficult shot, loss of position or bad contact – and there will always be pressure. Add to that the broken flow of things – time spent waiting for the balls to stop, time spent prowling around the table, time spent sizing up the table, time spent cleaning the white, time spent waiting for a turn – and the ability for things to go wrong is constantly in contemplation.”
Anyway, luckily we don’t need to choose #blessed
Frame 32
I dion’t know and neither do you.
Higgins 15-16 Williams
Well that’s Williams’ first in five, and he needs just two more.
The reds are farshmeered all over the table, and Williams is sliding them away in typically laconic style. In his box, his younger son is nervously prodding his wife, but as far as this frame is concerned, he can relax. And this is Higgins’ problem; he was so far behind that it seemed impossible he could stop Williams for as long as he needed to. No one knows anything.
Williams plays a red to the green pocket and misses, but gets lucky with a cannon, leaving a difficult long red. Higgins tries for it, missing thick and by a fortnight. Williams has a chance to clinch the frame now.
Williams must have a t-shirt on underneath because there are still nae patches. He races to 41, but then misses a difficult blue into the right centre, leaving nowt. He’ll take that.
Frame 31
Higgins loses concentration and gifts Williams a starter.
That’s me being speechless, but I’m not here to be speechless, but I’m speechless, but here we are. This isn’t just one of the greatest comebacks in snooker ever; if Higgins pulls it off, this is one of the greatest comebacks in sport ever. Drink it in, because you may never see such ilk again.
Updated
Higgins 15-15 Williams
............
Higgins plays a careful black - it’s close to the final red - screws back for the black again, and this is the crucial shot coming up, to get to the yellow. He plays it perfectly, and Higgins is now favourite for the match! Can someone please explain to me what in the absolute merry expletive is going on, please?
Earworm for Williams.
This was a frame-winning opportunity. Williams ran out of position ever so slightly and each shot thereafter was a bit off, until he had to pot a red close to another and hit the wrong one first. So Higgins bounces up and takes an opener to the green pocket and works his way down for the teef.
I’m not sure Williams made a smart decision to wear a blue shirt - I fully expect some Camacho sweat patches to announce themselves in the near-to intermediate future. In the meantime, though, there’s some seriously nifty cue-work going on, the break 32 without the any blacks - but yerman is now in commission and this is a frame-winning opportunity.
Updated
Drama! Williams can’t find his exension, but I’m not sure there’s any hair to tie it to.
Williams fouls and Higgins thinks there’s a pot on ... there’s a pot on! He panels it in from the baulk line down the throat of the top right ... but misses a pink into the centre! I think that was a kick, but Williams won’t care - he’s back in the balls and will need to do something.
Williams takes on a red because it’s the only one he can leave, and misses but doesn’t leave it so Higgins sends him back to baulk.
Frame 30
Williams breaks nicely and sticks Higgins on the bottom cushion.
“Prediction,” emails Greg Phillips. “Williams 18-16 Higgins. Williams bounces back to win the next two, then Higgins wins another two, then Williams makes it across the line. Of course, Higgins could just sweep the next four.”
No one knows anything. But the chaps are here, so we’ll soon find out.
Updated
So that’s the mid-session. Pour yourself something, or just take it out of the bottle - you’re going to need it.
Higgins 14-15 Williams
WHAT A SESSION THAT WAS! It’s not just the comeback, but the nature of it - Higgins has played near-perfect snooker.
Can individuals regroup? Apparently that’s what Williams must do during the interview.
Williams hasn’t potted a ball for 26 minutes when Higgins catches the brown, makes it unsafe, and leaves a red. He misses it, Higgins sidles back to the table, and surely that’s end of frame.
Updated
Higgins pots a red and expects to cannon another on the side cushion to sort his position but what looked like a natural angle turned out not to be. So with a lead of 52 points, he puts the brown safe and plays close to the yellow too - Williams appreciates the snide and taps the table as he continues the safety.
@DanielHarris “It looks like we could be in for a late night here at The Crucible” pic.twitter.com/lPRmvndh4Z
— # (@AsNaturalAsRain) May 7, 2018
This really is some of the greatest snooker you’ll ever have the privilege of seeing, never mind the greatest snooker you’ll ever have the privilege of seeing in a world final, never mind the greatest snooker you’ll ever have the privilege of seeing in a world final from 10-15 down. Resourceful, meticulous, clever and dangerous -pour it into your eyes and your soul. The break is currently 37 - a kick intervenes, but oughtn’t to be too damaging.
Ba-boom! Williams leaves a tempter, a long red to the top right, and Higgins delivers it right into the gaping bosom of the pocket.
Updated
Williams makes it, and we have some safety, which works well because snooker is safe.
This is getting silly. Higgins works out an absrud plant, then lays a snooker behind the green. Williams plays off the side cushion but too slowly, so back he goes.
Frame 29
A reminder that the score was once 7-14. Higgins has won six of the last seven frames; came he sweep the mini-session? His pot success so far is 99%.
Higgins 13-15 Williams
I cannot wait to see another frame. Luckily I’m not going to have to.
Down they go, the pink as well, then the black, and WHAT IS GOING ON! WHAT A PERFORMANCE THIS IS, WHAT A FINAL WE ARE HAVING! LOOK AROUND, LOOK AROUND, HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW!
Updated
Ohhhhhh, what a shot! Higgins sinks the pink with power and confidence, gets perfect position on the last red, up for the yellow, and all he needs is three more balls. He is playing like God’s dad.
Just as I publish that, Higgins lets the white run too far - he’s got the rest out, and a normal shot has become a bastard. He gets down, gets up, and puts the rest away.
These last three frames have been an absolute lesson in cue-ball control (if only I was capable of learning such a thing). It’s looking like a late-arse, nauseating, regretful night, exactly what we’re after.
Updated
Well! Higgins sticks home the green from close to the baulk line, then comes into the pack off the side cushion, catches pink half-ball when he wanted full but things run well for him and he’s now a strong favourite to close the gap.
The way Higgins is putting these breaks together is special. I said this earlier, but because he’s such a competitor, we forget that, at heart, he’s a break-builder. Frequent exposure to the overhead camera does his barnet no favours, but.
Updated
Higgins leaves a difficult red - the white is on the side cushion - and Williams strikes it well, but the ball teases and tantalises before staying out. “Fine margins”, they don’t say, but luckily I am well versed in commentator’s cliche and am here to redress the cosmic balance by saying it for them. Higgins then takes out the rest and this time uses it well ... Williams will be thinking about things.
Williams is a specimen - a klee, as they say in Hebrew. He just keeps obliviously rolling, coaxing home reds and blacks ... but then runs out of position after playing a decent split. “If anything, it just arced a little too much for him,” says Dennis with a straight face, and the chwhite goes onto the bottom cushion with the lead now 47.
An error from Higgins sets Williams away, and chwhat a pot on the pink follows it! It’s on its spot and touching reds ... but Williams finds the angle from the side cushion to send it into the opposite middle pocket.
“Clearance of the tournament so far,” tweets Silver Fox. It was up there - Higgins’ nearly-147 earlier was incredivle, and that Trump one to set up a re-spotted black against Higgins was also rrrridiculous.
Frame 28
World Snooker never disappoints!
Higgins 12-15 Williams
What a skank! We have ourselves a ball-game! That clearance from Higgins was special - perfect, even.
He forces the brown, goes off the bottom cushion, in behind the yellow, “and it’s there!” He then has to pot along the baulk line to take the green of its spot ... and he does! Then the brown itself, “right into the heart of the pocket”, and the pink and black are sitting pretty for another to Higgins!
WHAT A SHOT!
So Higgins goes up off the final red, but doesn’t have a great angle on the broon to get behind the yellow...
The yellow is on the side cushion, halfway between baulk line and pocket. That, and it to green, will be the shots which decide this frame and Higgins is already planning them.
Higgins goes too hard at a red but very quickly he’s back in perfect position. This would be a phenomenal tax and one of the great clearances.
Updated
Have a look! Williams gets to 58 and frame ball ... then hesitates and pushes a red towards the midde, which ducks over the edge the nips back over to wind him up! He’s left everything!
Williams finishes the wrong side of the pink - which is on the blue spot - so has to go in and out of baulk. He hits it too hard, but gets out of trouble with a plant ... of course he does.
He comes down the table, pots the red to bring the black into play, then spanks home a pink with bare top and splits the pack. What a shot! Very quickly, he’s fashioned a chance.
And he’s left a red. There’s not much else on, so after this green, Williams will have work to do.
Frame 27
Williams clips the blue off the break - Ken blames someone coming back to their seat - and Higgins has a red to the bottom right, so comes over to see what’s doing with the black. “Nothing” is the answer, and the pot is hit too hard for the pink, meaning it’s yellow with the rest ... he misses.
Higgins 11-15 Williams
That’s exactly what we wanted. It wasn’t as good as his frame-winner earlier today, but it didn’t have to be because the balls were nicely spread and the control was so good.
Higgins raises his ton with a delicate black down at baulk, and he’s purring like George Galloway without all the awful bits. And there goes the final black, 131, using I think all the colours - most of them for sure!
A conundrum for you: I’d like this match to finish so I can stop working. What I’d like to do when I finish work is watch the snooker. Come on Iggzy!
67 to the Wiz, and that’s the frame. I refrained from giving it a “first frame is crucial”, because I’m a writer, baby, but the first frame was and is crucial. By amazing coincidence, so too will be the second.
Higgins is up to 51, 50 ahead with 83 remaining. He’s making this look a cinch, so let’s repair to an affirming opening bar, courtesy of Niall Mullen.
Breaking news from our man at the Cruce: “Mark Williams just came into the press room on his way to the final session, played some warm-up mini snooker. ‘I’m good at this’ he said, though he did miss a couple.”
I know it’s minor, but this is the kind of thing that makes it hard to see Williams losing - he’s just so calm, so won’t chuck it away, and I don’t think Higgins can play well enough to do take it away.
And Higgins is doing the business right now, patiently compiling a break of 21 and looking rock solid for a sizeable contribution.
“Evening Daniel!” exclaims George Wright. “This evening really is great isn’t it? Probably Sunday at Augusta and the first day of the first test of the summer are the only annual sporting things that run it close. As for this session, it’ll be interesting to see how JH thinks. When he was seven back, it was obvious that he decided to go for everything and not worry about the consequences. While he’s five back that’s still viable, but when does he revert to playing not to lose? Either because he’s back in it or on the brink. What d’ya reckon?”
It’s always, always special, which is what makes it so special - Augusta wasn’t great this term, but luckily for us we don’t need to choose. Higgins will need to take on the pots because he can’t afford to let Williams near the table - if he does, he’ll lose.
And he wobbles it down! That was not a generous angle, and the angle on the black is also difficult, coming from the side-top cushion ... and he floats it over, but it doesn’t drop! What can Iggo do?
Frame 26
Higgins breaks well, and looks to have taken control of the safety exchange, but then leaves one to the left middle...
Is there a single song that has every hair on your body bouncing on end from just the first bar? Apart from this one...
Williams is out, and here’s Higgins - he’s changed from black trousers, black shirt and black bowtie to black trousers, black shirt and black bowtie.
Updated
Choon!
The crowd have started clapping along. I take it back.
A variety of talking heads are talking about the wonder of the trophy. Steve talks about the moment after the presentation when he showed it his mates and family. Imagine that! Stephen, meanwhile, says one of the greatest moments is when you don’t win it. “You’ve got the trophy but ma name’s there as well!” Amazing.
“Higgins winning the first session 3-1 would be a decent result for him and put some pressure on Williams.” says Sheila O’Connell. “It’s not impossible.”
No it’s not, and Williams isn’t impervious to pressure – he just wears it brilliantly. He’s such a good potter that it’s hard to see him missing many chances - I don’t think Higgins can keep him off the table for long enough.
Updated
“Mark Williams messing it up from here,” begins Greg Phillips. “Don’t see it happening. Higgins is deservedly noted for his mental toughness, but in 2003 Williams saw Ken Doherty come back from 10-2 to 12-12 and stay with him over the next eight frames, but didn’t lose his nerve.”
I feel you. He looked amazingly calm earlier today, and taking that final frame was gigantic. He is ridiculously equanimous.
Quick bit of reading: me on why world snooker is the greatest (and like Sopranos).
Evening all. If you missed this afternoon’s magnificence, Mark Williams won the first four frames playing beautiful, frictionless snooker. But then after the mid-session, John Higgins dug deeper than the earth’s core to steal one frame, take another with what I’m certain is the greatest 147 that never was, and win a third. Had he made it a sweep and reduced his arrears to four, he’d have a hope; to come back from five down with Williams now back on track, would represent a miracle. But snooker is a miraculous thing, so.
So there we go - join me at 7 and we’ll see. If Higgins gets a start it’ll be a bazzer; if Williams pulls this off, it’ll be incredible. Basically, we can’t lose.
Higgins 10-15 Williams
I guess Higgins would’ve took that at the mid-session, as Ryan Giggs would say, but that final frame of the afternoon was crucial. It’s hard to see Williams messing it up from here, but you never know.
The black is close to the pocket he’s going for, but probably isn’t close enough to play off ... and he looks to play off it, missing. Williams is back to roll it in, and there are plenty of points available before things get tough.
I’ve just been informed that there’s a deceased baby bird on my fake grass. I could do with this frame going on for 14 hours, because I’ll be removing it when we’re done. And Mark Williams has smiled upon me, because he’s just missed a red at 50-8...
Williams leads 34-8, and the balls aren’t so nicely placed as to make this a formality, but you’d rather be him than Higgins.
“The standard is unbelievable ... my heart is leaping with joy watching this,” coos Alan McManus. That makes me very happy, and he’s right - Williams was good in the last mini-session, but this second one has been a level above.
Higgins catches a knuckle playing safe and forces Williams to play a pot. He misses long into the top left and follows in with the white, but luckily for him, the red comes back up the table and catches the blue making the next pot difficult. Higgins misses, but leaves a thin cut into the yellow pocket ... Williams isn’t refusing that, and has a lovely angle on the blue to get in amongst it.
Safety. The snooker we’re seeing, and snooker in general.
Frame 25 - the last of the afternoon
This time it’s Williams with the quality break-off and Higgins who has to come off the cushion - he’s pretty tight behind the yellow. He feathers the pink en route to the pack, and Williams puts him back.
Higgins 9-11
Ach! Higgins misses the next red, but what a break that was - one of the very best you’ll ever see. Under that sort of pressure, to deliver brilliance of that sort ... we are privileged to be watching. This is breathless, compelling, invigorating stuff.
Down goes the black, and he makes damn sure to extinguish the red ... but can get to the black ... and it’s there!
One more black and red will secure the frame...
This really is fantastic stuff from Higgins. If he can pull it off, it’ll be as great a 147 as you’ll see, Ronnie’s five-minuter aside, because the balls were not inviting. He’s up to eight and eight now, but somehow the white doesn’t respond to his side and he’s got to play the next red to the yellow pocket ... OR THE DOUBLE INTO THE MIDDLE! HE’S GOT IT!
But Higgins doesn’t get the luck thereafter and plays a tricky red with the rest ... he eschewed an easier one to do it too ... was he trying to keep the 147 alive? A black of its spot from the top cushion goes down, and that was a so difficult and nerve-wracking.
He plays it beautifully, he’s on the next red, and it plus a black go down. That’s five of each.
Higgins is such a competitor that it’s easy to forget he’s a break-builder at heart. And he’s working this one out beautifully, picking balls with gentle cueing. He’s up to 25, but has to screw back for his next black when he wanted to run through. This is tricky...
It’s not easy but Higgins plays it well ... he’s not on the red he’s targeted, and will need the extended rest, but he ought to stick it away.
And the excellence of Iggo’s safety forces an error from Williams. The white is close to the blue spot and down, just about, goes the first red ... and the black is available!
Frame 24
Higgins sticks Williams behind the yellow off the break, so he comes off the cushion into the pack. He can’t get back into baulk can he? If not, we could be in re-rack territory, but he requests the spider and plays an excellent shot close to the bottom cushion.
Higgins 9-14 Williams
What a clearance that was! John Higgins has stanes the size of Stenhoosemuir.
He’s not perfect on the blue, but stuns it in and comes off the cushion perfectly...
Black to yellow, the key shot ... and “right in the heart of the pocket!” He needs all the colours, but suddenly that looks likely and they’re all on their spots....
I’m at work, which is to say I’d not mind an early finish here because I get to pack up and go downstairs early. Except I’d detest an early finish because if you stand for nothing what would you fall for? This is the final of the World Snooker Championship, and it owes us all the drama in the world.
Higgins taps the table in appreciation after Williams plays a decent safety at the second time of asking ... BUT WHAT A RED HE EXPLETIVE SPANKS IN! AND HE CUTS A TRICKY BLACK, SEPARATES A PAIR OF REDS, AND THE TAX IS ON!
Oh! Williams pots a blue and comes down to open the remaining reds, but he’s forgotten to impart requisite power and when the white sticks in the reds he slaps up the table. That’ll teach it, and his run of 65 ends with 75 remaining; if Higgins gets the next chance, the balls are well set for a steal.
Here we go ... five reds, four blacks, and the power on that last one opens the pack. Williams decamps for blue, the strokes through a red to get back involved down the business end, and it’s hard to see him botching this.
Williams is so sly in the safety and leaves Higgins a right evil one, forcing him to play a lone red. He catches it far too thick, and that gives Williams a chance. In goes the red, a black follows it down, and John Williams is playing again.
Frame 23
Can Higgins win another?
Higgins 8-14 Williams
A break of 57 is enough! We’ve got waselves an evening session, and Enry Iggins is back in business.
Higgins then kicks off with a lovely red! That had a long old way to travel to the pocket, and he takes the buzz and extends it, quickly opening the pack. This is going to be his first frame of the day, sure Lee?
Williams errs! Higgins bounces out of his chair and plays a decent safety - he must’ve thought that was an eighth frame in the hole.
Alan McManus has just described a “seismic mini-session”, which made me snigger ... but this didn’t. Higgins misses a black off its spot - he might’ve played the unmissable pink instead - so returns to his place with sad shake of the heid and a tut-tut. You’d not be shocked to see Williams clear up from here, and it’s quickly now 25-15 as yerman gets going.
Higgins goes into the pack off the next red, and he can’t be making a mess of this. He’s now about to pot his third red-black combo, and the balls are invitingly spread (if you’re not a moron like me).
...and he plays it beautifully!
Well that’s one! Williams misses a red and a double-kiss gives Higgins an easy starter. Can he parlay it into a break? He plays for a tricky black along the top rail ...
Frame 22
Here we go...
The boys are back with us...
So, if Williams wins, or Higgins loses, the next four frames, we’ve got no evening session. That potential embarrassment of that Davis-Parrott situation will be nausing the arse off of Higgins, and will be his first target because it’ll entail winning a frame, something he’s not experienced in the last seven played.
Updated
Mid-session fun:
Updated
Higgins 7-14 Williams
This is extraordinary stuff from Mark Williams. He’s floating around the table and cooing home balls like you can scarcely believe. What a story, if, when, when, if he wins this - when he came through, he was a long-potter, but what’s been great about him here is his potting in the balls. Higgins has barely had a chance, and if he gets one, you wouldn’t bank on him taking it.
Updated
Frame-ball, a red that needs tickling along the top cushion, looks tricky. It is not tricky.
It looks like he’s run out of position. He hasn’t. He leads 37-7, the run 25, with five reds remaining.
Williams is back in. Yes he is.
Updated
Higgins goes into the pack off the blue but it’s just not working out for him, and the next red is harder than he’d like ... he’s low on it, the black and pink are out of commission ... and he’s overcut it. Oh dear.
Higgins plays a containing safety and Williams clunks a long red without much conviction. This is a chance.
But whaddaya know, he misses ... but whaddaya know, everything goes safe.
Williams leaves Higgins a red to the yellow pocket, but the chwhite ends up between brown and green. He decides he’s no choice but to force the brown into that same pocket and come of the cushion into the pack. The second part works ok, which is to say Williams is back at the table potting balls.
Frame 21
Higgins needs this. As he needed the last three.
“Are you on the beach soaking up the sun and the snooker?” asks Andrew Benton. “Could you be if you wanted to be?”
Sun, sea, ... snooker. Er, I guess if i had one of those laptops with a glare-proof screen it’s possible in theory. But I’d end up with a crowd scene - thrill of the game, thrill of watching me blog. it’s not fair on everyone else.
Higgins 7-13 Williams
Mark Williams is playing like God. It’s really is that simple.
A lovely red down the cushion clinches the frame, so after a colour Williams tries a plant - softly, with safety in mind. He misses so Higgins, needing a snooker, comes back to the table. He tries a plant, misses, and there’s another frame smack, bang in the lobster pot.
It’s not that Higgins is playing badly, but he’s not been able to take any half-chances and that’s all he’s been offered. This is cabriolet stuff from Williams, absolutely roofless.
Williams is cruising about the table now! He’s looked so good today, more so than yesterday, though he won the last three frames then. Quickly, he strokes his way to 32, and in a few minutes it’ll be six in a row.
Higgins leaves a red and Williams pushes it home, but doesn’t get the connection he was seeking so has to try the black from close to the top cushion. He overcuts though ... only for Higgins to miss the only red available. Again, it wasn’t easy; again, he sees it home if he’s not struggling to hold it down. Perhaps in that knowledge, he brings the white up t near the green ... only for Williams to spend a while psyching himself up to play a red to the top right, close to the side cushion ... and what a shot that is!
Frame 20
Higgins is desperately seeking.
Higgins 7-12 Williams
A run of 56 and when Williams misses, Higgins stays sat down. This is looking ominous.
Has anyone else noticed that from above, Mark Williams’ hair looks like the Batman sign? And also that his head is symmetrical down the middle?
Williams thinks he can swerve around a red to pot a red. He gets down on the shot ... he gets up ... he gets down ... he gets up ... he gets down for a different plant ... he gets up ... he gets down and down it goes! This is beginning to look a lot like 12-7, as Johnny Mathis once sung.
He can’t get through to it, so plays to tickle one off the side cushion. He misses, but gets it second time, thicker than intended - that describes us all really - and he’s left a plant that Williams coaxes home. A gently-cut pink follows, but I’m not sure there’s any position left...
An error from Williams forces him to play safe, and he leaves the cue ball close to the baulk cushion. Most of the reds are between the black and top right ... Iggins thinks he’s spotted a plant...
Foul and a miss from Williams, looking for a thin contact, and Higgins has a pressure pot from around the baulk line to the top left ... it’s not pips, but it’s not nails ... but four frames down, he misses, and Williams is in!
Williams espies a red and clunks it into the middle, but runs out of position off the blue. More safety ensues.
Hendry Reckons Higgins is what I’m going to call my ironic sixth-form band, when I’ve completed my full regression.
Hendry reckons Higgins can’t go into tonight’s session more than four behind - I’d say he does, he’s did.
FYI we all like to see the big breaks, but you can’t beat a tactical frame. Did you know?
Oh maaaate! Higgins has to cue down onto the white from close to the side cushion, and that, along with the pressure of the chase, causes him to miss the pot. He’s not left anything, mind, and Williams initiates some safety.
Frame 19
Williams leaves a red loose and Higgo panels it hame to the top left. The chwhite is back in baulk, so a yellow comes next, then another red, a blue and this is still tricky. The pink is separated from the reds, so will need to go into them full ball and hard ... and he’s absolutely nailed it! This is a chance now.
Hazel has bought crisps for the lads, after Williams asked for food off the audience yesterday. Oh ho ho, how they laughed.
Higgins 7-11 Williams
This looks ominous for Higgins. He badly needs the next frame because if Williams wins it he’ll begin to smell the finish, whatever that smells off.
Just look at it!
"Outrageous!"@ronnieo147 loves this frame-winning shot from @markwil147 👌 #EurosportSnooker pic.twitter.com/K6JbAxQFGp
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 7, 2018
Well! Higgins sticks Williams tight on the top cushion behind the black, forcing him to play a cut to the middle ... [JV]and it’s there! Right in the heart of the pocket![/JV]. He is cueing beautifully, and as i type that he plays a pot with his eyes closed! Rrrrrrridiculous.
Williams fouls carelessly and that’s good for Higgins who now has 77 points available with a 56-point deficit.
Williams tries a double but as a shot to nothing. It misses, and Higgins has the chance to put the cue ball behind the black - not tight - but causing difficulty because three reds are below the pink, one between blue and yellow and one in baulk. But Higgins flukes the red to no avail - he can’t take a colour and there are now fewer balls left for him - and a safety exchange ensues.
This really is a superb break, of course it is, and he’s just missed a red ... ah, that’s a huge kick. Williams leads by 61 with 75 remaining, and that’s the return of luck Higgins needed.
Good news and bad news: the good news and main thing is that I can now bold up the first few words, which means I am no longer on my phone and back on my computer. The bad news is that my phone cut out in the process and I missed Williams fluking a red, but he’s in, the run is 44, and he’s going to go four ahead. He’s gliding around the table right now, and Higgins will not be at all happy - he needed a start. He hasn’t got one.
And that’s a terrific opening - Williams is tight on the bottom cushion and has to play off the side.
The boyz are on the baize! Hands and smiles are exchanged; frame 18, John Higgins to break.
Higgins has left his dressing room. He’s wearing a summery black syoot with black shirt and black bow-tie. Williams is in blue shirt - I’ve no idea what’s prompted this revolution. Possibly a tribute to his pastely fellow countryman, Doug Mountjoy.
Updated
We’re seeing the story of last night. For those of you watching in black and white, Williams leads 10-7.
Hazel Irvine is standing outside the Crucimecca, where it is hot. It is sunny. She likes the sun. Not as much as she likes asking post-match questions to elicit tears, but that’s a high standard indeed. Hopefully we’ve got that to look forward to - this term, Williams is the more likely candidate, but the less likely character.
Well the good news is that my internet is down. But on the plus side, it is hot. It is sunny. I like the sun. Do you like the sun too?
Preamble
In Britain we spend a lot of time talking about the weather, but not as much time talking about talking about the weather. Aren’t we great. Oh us. It is hot today. And sunny. So, with that out of the way in classically understated, self-aware and ironic style, let us now talk about snooker.
It’s been another jazzer of a Crucible fortnight; of course it has, because that is just what happens, every single year. In this unpredictable world, full of unpredictable people, unpredictable politics and unpredictable British weather, the reliable joy of world championship snooker takes on even greater meaning.
This term, this are slightly different – and yet very much the same. Generally, the identity of the world champions tells us not just the identity of the world champions, but the identity of the best player in the world; the extended format is the ultimate proving ground. I’m not so sure that’s the case today, but what we get instead is two old heads slugging it out yet again. Both are fantastic, neither will Neil Foulds, and whoever wins will have learnt it.
John Higgins has, in late career, earned the big pots that were kept away from him at his peak by Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan. He has a phenomenal all-round game, is solid under pressure, and doesn’t care at all for the exposure of his napper by the overhead camera. But during last year’s final he led Mark Selby 10-4; that will doubtless still be stinging.
His opponent, Mark Williams, will feel, er, blessed just to be here. Not long ago he was about to chuck it all in, and didn’t even qualify last year, but an intervention from his wife saved him, he rediscovered his most definitive long pots and nicest safety, and here we are.
You get the impression that if Williams is to do this, he’ll have to do it from the front; Higgins might almost be relieved he’s behind, to spare himself the ignominy of chucking it away again. The truth is, that didn’t really happen – Selby was just better – but a competitor of his mettle is never going to see things that way. So, more or less, the score is exactly where we’d have put it to guarantee ourselves the finest drama, the latest night, and the least bank holiday social interaction.
Boyz/baize interface: 2pm BST
Updated
