Williams vows ‘naked cartwheels’ if he retains title
NEWLY crowned world champion Mark Williams has vowed to perform naked cartwheels if he repeats his stunning triumph next year — after stripping off in celebration of his nailbiting victory in Sheffield.
Williams, 43, withstood a stirring fightback from John Higgins to land his third Crucible title on Monday, 15 years after his second.
The 18-16 success made him the oldest winner since 45-year-old Ray Reardon in 1978 and Williams fulfilled a promise to hold his press conference naked — although he wore a towel to protect his modesty.
Williams, who made the suggestion as a joke earlier in the tournament, was roared into the media room and said: “Cold in here, isn’t it!”
Asked how he felt, he said: “It feels a little bit uncomfortable at the minute. I had to wear the towel on the orders of Barry Hearn (chairman of World Snooker) otherwise I would just have walked in, just crying.
“It’s an unbelievable story. Twelve months ago I was thinking about chucking it, and here I am doing an interview having won the 2018 world championship, naked. If I won this again next year, I’d do this again — I’d cartwheel round here naked.”
Scotland’s Higgins had battled back from 7-14 down to level at 15-15, making the most of his opponent’s mistakes before Williams nudged ahead and then made a century break to move 1 frame away from victory.
But Williams faltered, missing a pink that was match ball. Four-time champion Higgins had not expected another chance but came back to the table and cleared up. The Welshman, however, held his nerve in the next frame, a break of 69 taking him over the line.
The champion’s young sons witnessed the drama — having not been born when he previously won in 2000 and 2003.
The player, who failed to even qualify for last year’s world championship, said of his family: “I’m sure they’ve enjoyed it. My missus couldn’t stop crying for ages. I got a little bit emotional towards the end as well. I thought these days had all passed to be honest.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.