Welsh Wizard Williams weaves his magic
Mark Williams produced an astounding performance to book his place in the quarter finals of the 2010 totesport.com Welsh Open in Newport
Earlier in the day Ronnie O'Sullivan completed his 5-0 whitewash of Jamie Cope in 55 minutes. I took Mark Williams barely 4 minutes longer to completed a masterful 5-0 win over 2007 Welsh finalist Andrew Higginson.
From the very first black he attempted, when he got a thunderous kick, Higginson might have got the impression it wasn't going to be his night.
Williams knocked in 27 and 44 to win the opener. But it was the 66 clearance in frame two that had the crowd roaring and everyone gasping at the pure brilliance of his shot making.
A break of 75 in an 8 minute frame took the Welshman three frames up, and he rattled in 68 to win the fourth after Higginson broke down on 32.
The only disappointment came in the fifth frame, when Williams missed the green on 89 to deny the crowd the chance of cheering a century.
The total match time was one hour and 7 seconds.
Williams was as happy with his form as the audience had been to watch it.
"That's some of the best stuff I've played for a long time," said Williams.
"I got to him [Higginson] early, made good breaks and put him under a lot of pressure.
"I've put a lot of work in and it's starting to come out now in matches.
"I''m feeling now that I'm going to make the balls and that's how I used to feel.
"Hopefully now I'll start to get the results I deserve for all the practice I've put in.
"I'm glad to be in the quarters. If I keep playing well I think I'll be a handful for anyone.
John Higgins beat fellow Scot Graeme Dott 5-1 but the match was far closer than the scoreline suggested.
They shared the first two frames with Higgins making 65 in the first and Dott 54 in the second.
Higgins regained the lead with a run of 64 in the third, but the turning point came in the fourth.
Dott opened with 50 but his break faltered. Higgins replied with 36 and then added the bits and pieces he needed to pinch the frame.
Further runs of 52 and 41 saw the World Champion over the line.
Happy with his own performance, Higgins was also pleased to see his Scottish pal getting back to near his best form.
"The frames were tight and I could see that Graeme is hitting the ball well again. He's fighting his way back up.
"But it's really hard for him because he's coming to venues and playing one of the favourites now every time.
"I was pretty solid through the match and I played tough match snooker."
Looking ahead Higgins said "Anything can happen from here on. I'd love to win an event this season. But it's so tough these days.
"It's good to get through consistently to the latter stages but you do want to be lifting trophies.
