Williams shows enduring class to edge past Wu

Halo World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 May

Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; live text coverage of selected matches; updates on BBC Radio 5 Live

Three-time winner Mark Williams showed his enduring class to edge past China's up-and-coming star Wu Yize 10-8 and reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship.

Having led 5-4 overnight, the Welshman compiled breaks of 101 and 69 to lead 7-6 but struggled to shake off his opponent in a nip-and-tuck encounter at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Williams, 50, then fell 8-7 behind but played a wonderful snooker on the final red to gain the advantage in the 16th frame as he levelled the contest.

A valuable break of 58, which included several stunning shots, moved him within a frame of victory and he sealed his win with a composed run of 75.

"It was a tough game all the way through. I think I was 3-0 up and then I didn't pot a ball for three or four frames. Some of the balls he potted were incredible," Williams told BBC Sport.

"He's got the potential to win this tournament, there's absolutely no question. His long-potting was unbelievable and I just had to go back to my old break-off because every single time he potted a long red.

"I thought that I had to do something because I can't outscore him or outpot him, but I could still try to outwit him I suppose. I got stronger towards the end.

"When I nicked the frame to go 8-8, I potted a couple of long ones and then made a frame-winning break in the last frame, I actually felt quite good."

It was a superb performance from Williams in his 70th match at the sport's most famous venue. Booked in for surgery in June, he has been dogged by eyesight issues in the build-up to the tournament and has been dismissive of his own prospects.

At varying stages he was outplayed by Wu, who scored 1,022 points to his 838 - but whenever he appeared to be in difficulty, he found an answer.

The world number six will face Barry Hawkins or Hossein Vafaei next, with their contest set to conclude on Sunday evening (19:00 BST).

In Sunday afternoon's other first-round match, world number eight Mark Allen was 3-0 behind against Fan Zhengyi of China but then won five of the following six frames to take a 5-4 lead into Monday's second session.

Northern Ireland's Allen, 39, is aiming to complete the full set of snooker's Triple Crown events, having won the 2018 Masters and 2022 UK Championship.

Jak Jones is in danger of an early exit as China's Zhao Xintong produced a sensational scoring display to lead 7-2 in their first-round match.

Jones, 31, made a surprise run to last year's final, losing to Kyren Wilson.

The 16th seed from Wales knocked in a 99 break to take the third frame but was punished by the 2021 UK Championship winner for costly early misses.

Zhao made a 142 clearance in frame five - the highest break of the tournament so far - and six half-centuries in the first session.

Jones took the last frame with a break of 70, but Zhao will need just three more frames for victory when they resume on Monday.

The winner will face Lei Peifan, who knocked out defending champion Wilson on Saturday, in the last 16.

Zhao, 28, is competing as an amateur but breezed through qualifying and is among the favourites to lift the trophy on 5 May.

He was one of 10 players banned in 2023 following an investigation into match-fixing.

He did not directly throw a match but was initially suspended for two and a half years, reduced to 20 months after his early admissions and guilty plea - he accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.

Zhao completed his suspension earlier this season and his performances on the Q Tour have earned him a spot back among the professional ranks for 2025-26.

Meanwhile, China's Xiao Guodong beat England's Matthew Selt 10-4 to secure a second-round meeting with either John Higgins or Joe O'Connor.

Leading 7-2 overnight, the world number 14 lost the opening two frames of the concluding session but then won three in a row to reach the last 16.

The matches involving 2010 champion Neil Robertson and 2013 runner-up Hawkins will be played to a conclusion from 19:00 BST.

Robertson trails Chris Wakelin 7-2, while Hawkins holds a 5-4 lead against Vafaei.

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