One Arm Bandit Sees Off The Outlaw
World number 15, Mark Williams got a ‘shot in the arm’, the good one that is, as he claimed an impressive five-frames-to-three win over The Outlaw, Joe Swail in Shanghai.
It is over a month since the two-time world champion broke his wrist in a fall which has left his right arm in plaster for the past month. The original cast was removed and a split cast replacement was put on just hours before leaving for China.
Northern Ireland’s Swail led by 3-1 at the mid session interval and looked like extending his lead before breaking down on 52 in the next.
The former world number one dug deeply and managed to escape with a yellow to pink clearance to get within one frame.
It was a similar story in the sixth frame with Swail making all the running before breaking down in amongst the balls, this time the Welshman cleared with 55 to level the scores.
Frame seven became pivotal and when Swail failed to take a colour after creating an opportunity, Williams pounced making his first century break of the new season with a timely 101.
The eighth and ultimately final frame was the longest of the match, extending to over half-an-hour.
An early break of 51 by Swail suggested that a final frame shoot-out would be required. But a succession of small contributions kept ol’ one-handed Williams in the hunt.
A foul with the last four balls remaining was Swail’s undoing in the end as he watched Williams clear the table and progress one handed into the last 16.
Williams told Global-Snooker.com, “I was in pain throughout the match but I just had to get through it. Those first round matches have a massive affect on the ranking list. I can relax a bit now and see what happens. Sometimes when you expect less, you get more”.
He will now face current world champion John Higgins for a place in the quarter-final.
