Down to a tee, Mark Williams predicted what Ronnie O’Sullivan was going to say in his post-match interview.
Having been clawed back from a 7-2 first session lead to lose by 13 frames to ten in their World Snooker Championship quarter final, Mark Williams took solace from the fact that he’d just lost to the ‘best player ever.’
Far from dispirited, the Welshman was in gracious form as he anticipated some debatable comments from Ronnie O’Sullivan and indeed, distanced himself from Ronnie’s recent criticism of the game’s younger players.
“I’ve just lost a good game to the best player ever. I don’t agree with some of the stuff he does say. Most of the stuff he does say is total nonsense,” said Williams to Eurosport.
“No doubt he’ll say he played shit like he normally does, but I thought it was a good game.”
— Out Of Context Snooker (@OOCSnooker) August 11, 2020
The five time champion didn’t disappoint with some typically self degrading comments after the game.
“I think Mark Selby is a certainty to be honest,” he said of his upcoming semi-final clash with the Leicester man.
“It just boils down to I haven’t got a cue action at the end of the day,” he said to the BBC.
“If I had a cue action, I could play but it was just embarrassing to be honest with you. It’s like trying to win the US Open with a five-iron in my bag.”
“There will always be a little bit like… Maradona. You look at him now, he’s big and fat but you put a ball at his feet and the geezer’s unbelievable – but he’s not fit enough to play against guys who haven’t got as much talent as him..
Meanwhile, Williams was widely praised for his honesty and sportsmanship in calling a foul on himself for touching the yellow ball with his cue during the game – an action not even the referee had noticed.
Tremendous sportsmanship from Mark Williams, calling a foul against himself at a crucial stage of the game last night.pic.twitter.com/JwGCiNuCxk
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 12, 2020
In a game crying out for entertainers, these two veterans are masters of the art and they will be sorely missed when the time comes for them to hang up the cue.
Listen to the full O’Sullivan interview here.
