Mark Williams V Zhao Xintong - 04/04/25 13.00, 04/04/25 19.00, 05/04/25 13.00 & 05/04/25 19.00
It’s the last match of a thoroughly enjoyable tournament that ends a captivating season, it’s fitting that we’re going to be treated to two of the most watchable players battling out for the World title.
A match that pits two left handers against each other. Mark Williams, the first ever left hander to clinch the World title will aim to win his 4th at the age of 50. A truly staggering stat.
His defeat of World number 1 Judd Trump in the semi-final was an example of both his class and ability to grind out the biggest results when it matters most as he ran out a 17-14 winner.
At 7-3 down he never panicked and showed exactly why many rate him in the top 5 snooker players of all-time.
The Welshman will need to put huge emphasis on his safety play after the long potting we have seen from Zhao Xintong over the last 17 days.
Amazingly after admitting to struggling with his eyesight he has battled to reach the final and he will fight until the final ball is potted.
I’m beginning to run out of words to describe the fearless Xintong. The extremely talented 28-year-old emphatically defeated 7-time World champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 with a session to spare in the semi-final.
Williams will be aware of the chances offered up to Xintong during his semi-final, Ronnie was using a new cue and ferrule that obviously hampered his chances.
There is a huge possibility that we see the first Chinese World Championship winner over the next 2 days in what is undoubtedly a hugely exciting time for the sport. The emergence of Xintong among the World's best has breathed new life into the tour.
He amazingly came through the qualifiers and has won 8 matches to get to this stage, the road to the final began for the Chinese player all the way back on the 8th of April when he defeated Kai Wai Cheung in the first round of qualifying.
The pair met in the qualifiers for the 2017 World Championship, today's match-up is a testament of how they've both improved since then.
Whichever player lifts the title will create huge headlines across the World but if Mark Williams can defy all logic and come out on top it would arguably be one of the greatest achievements in our sport.
Prediction: 18-15 Williams
No comments:
Post a Comment