Williams is Player’s Champion
Two-time world champion, Mark Williams claimed the first Player’s Tour Championship with a 40-minute demolition of world number six, Stephen Maguire in the final at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport.
The Welshman, who has been the leading advocate of the new 12-event series, the brainchild of Barry Hearn took the first prize of £10,000 and leads the way in the race for the 24 places in the lucrative finals next March.
In the semi final, Williams who won the China Open in April, beat Stoke-on-Trent’s Jamie Cope in a deciding frame, while Maguire beat Hong Kong ‘s number one, Marco Fu by four-frames-to-one.
Williams also had to survive a final frame shoot out with Barry Pinches after the Norwich player feathered the white on a good scoring opportunity when leading 3-1.
Maguire also dodged a bullet in the last 16 against Barry Hawkins, when needing two snookers in the deciding frame. Hawkins led by 30 points with only 25 remaining when following a successful escape, he saw the black ball fall into the centre pocket. The Scot went on to clear from green to black and progress through to the last eight.
The highest ranked player in the field, Ronnie O’Sullivan reached the quarter finals where he was whitewashed by Cope.
The highest break of the tournament was won by Norway’s Kurt Maflin who made a magnificent maximum 147 in round one against Michael Zelienski.
The Player’s Tour returns to Sheffield for the second event next month before heading to mainland Europe later in the year.
