Veteran Williams makes World Championship final

A full quarter of a century after winning the World Snooker Championship for the first time at the age of 25, a now 50-year-old Mark Williams will try to claim a fourth world title when he strides out at the Crucible Theatre this afternoon.

- LUKE BAKER

If the veteran Welshman always exudes an air of nonchalance, no matter how high the stakes, surely even he will have one or two butterflies fluttering as he begins a best-of-35 encounter with Zhao Xintong, when he will take his place as the oldest finalist in Crucible history.

He didn't outwardly show any nerves as he brushed aside world No 1 Judd Trump 17-14 in a captivating semi-final, turning a match that was 8-8 overnight into a relatively comfortable triumph, but afterwards acknowledged that he was feeling the pressure when Trump began to hit back from 16-12.

"I was starting to sweat a bit towards the end," conceded Williams. "He came back with a couple of frames and I knew if I left him in, he was going to probably make a break. I was under pressure.

"I'm not going to lie this time, I felt it at the end as well. But I'm in the final, I can't believe it." Williams claims he can no longer see properly, calling himself "half-blind" throughout the tournament and has lens replacement surgery pencilled in for next month, although quipped that he would be looking for his deposit back from Optical Express after his performances across this fortnight.