'How are we still here?' - Class of 92 graduates thrill Crucible again

With a combined age of 99, two of snooker's all-time greats went head-to-head as Mark Williams beat John Higgins in one of snooker's most dramatic finishes to reach the World Championship semi-finals.

"What a match. Treasure the moments of these two great champions," said BBC commentator John Virgo, as Williams potted the black to almost fall over the winning line on Wednesday.

The sport's legendary 'Class of 92', with Ronnie O'Sullivan completing the trio, have won 14 world titles between them - and all are still going strong on tour.

Williams turned 50 in March and Higgins reaches his half century 13 days after this year's final, with O'Sullivan celebrating his 50th birthday in December.

But they have proved that age is just a number.

Could there be a veteran champion at the Crucible on Monday?

Williams has become the oldest man to reach the last four at the Crucible since six-time winner Ray Reardon did so at the age of 52 back in 1985.

It looked a step too far when he fell 5-1 behind, but a Williams surge then took him to the brink of victory at 12-8, only for Higgins to pull back to level terms.

"Twenty years ago, we were really big rivals - now we walk into the practice room and we give each other a nod as if to say: 'How are we still here competing with everybody?'" said Higgins before the match.

It is a sentiment Williams agrees with.

"Normally the older you get, the worse you get," he said. "Your eyes are going, everything is going and your stamina drops a bit and you get tired a lot more easier.

"But somehow us three are hanging around like a bad smell."

Williams held his nerve when Higgins missed a testing blue at the business end of the deciding frame, giving the tournament a black-ball decider - almost 40 years to the day since Dennis Taylor beat Steve Davis on the final black in the 1985 final.

With O'Sullivan in the opposite half of the draw a final between two of the 'Class of 92', named after the year they turned professional, is a real possibility.

"If one of them was to win the World Championship, maybe beat a young whippersnapper in the final, what an achievement that would be. Maybe their best ever achievement," said Davis.

Fifteen years ago, Davis defeated Mark King 10-9 in the Crucible first round, won 13-11 against a then 34-year-old Higgins, the reigning champion, before losing 13-5 to eventual winner Neil Robertson in the last eight.

"It was a fantastic buzz, I maybe ran out of belief," recalled Davis.

"Hopefully they don't do that. They are much more in touch with the top part of the game than I was."

The achievements of the 'Class of 92' trio are legendary. O'Sullivan has seven world titles, Higgins four and Williams three.

If Williams or O'Sullivan lift the trophy on Monday, 5 May, they will become the oldest winner in the modern era, breaking O'Sullivan's record when he won it three years ago, aged 46.

Thirty-three years ago they were all hungry, driven, talented teenagers with the desire to reach the top.

Williams described how he first met Higgins at the final of an event in 1990, when they were both 15.

"We played in the final and he beat me," said the Welshman. "It was live on TV and he beat me 6-1, he had five grand for a win, I had three grand for runner-up.

"We then played in the British Under-16s in Birmingham and I thrashed him 4-0 after 50 minutes and I got 200 quid so I was a week late.

"That was the first time I really remembered John as it was me and O'Sullivan playing in all the junior events when we were 13 and 14."

Williams and Higgins have their own Crucible history and have met six times now at the Sheffield theatre, with five victories for Williams, including an 18-16 success in an epic showdown in the 2018 final.

"That world final was one of the best games I've ever been involved in and people say it was the best final ever," said Williams before their latest rematch.

Higgins, hurting from defeat on Wednesday, said of his conqueror: "He's a great champion. The atmosphere out there was incredible, a standing ovation walking in. There's no better place to play, win or lose."

Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, played against the legendary trio throughout his career and felt the Williams-Higgins match was set up as "the tie of the round".

It lived up to that in spades.

"They've been at the top of the game since 1992, 33 years, and are still at the top and still producing," the Irishman said.

"As you get older it becomes a lot more difficult as players like me, Stephen Hendry, Alan McManus, Peter Ebdon have all found out. It's hard to cope in terms of tension, intensity and also to be able to devote your life to the game.

"You become a father, a family man and it's hard to dedicate themselves to the game but they still have the appetite, willingness and hunger and that's an incredible talent as well.

"I've been logging heads with them for 30 years. I've beaten them all but also lost to them all in big finals. I just had great times playing them and you used to relish it as it was a great test of your own game."

Doherty, who is part of the BBC TV team for the competition, added: "We might not see the kind of these three again so we have to enjoy them while we can. They've given the sport great entertainment, great matches and are still delivering."

Shaun Murphy tipped Judd Trump, who beat him 13-10 on Monday, to win the title.

But he added: "The Class of 92 are three of the best players we've ever seen and it's wonderful we still get to watch them.

"None of them would be here if they didn't want to be, they obviously love it enough to put themselves through it."

World number one Trump faces Williams in the semi-finals after winning his own quarter-final against Luca Brecel.

Trump felt the veteran trio would continue to feature at the top level for years to come.

"They inspired me a little bit, especially Ronnie and John when I was younger," said Trump. "Ronnie was someone I really looked up to. They're miles away from retiring and not far from their absolute best.

"When I played Williams in the semi-finals [when Trump won a final-frame decider for a 17-16 win in 2022] I've never seen him play like that.

"These three could be here when they're 65 if they wanted to be."