Snooker star Mark Williams makes ‘shot of the year’ without potting a ball

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Welsh snooker icon Mark Williams had fans celebrating what they believe was the ‘shot of the year’ during his Champion of Champions first-round clash with Robert Milkins. The 48-year-old lost on the night but will be remembered for his stunning safety shot that saw him escape a seemingly impossible situation.

Williams had been down 4-3 in the best-of-seven tie and was staring at a 14-point deficit with just the pink and black left on the table. In a safety battle, Milkins had left the pink hanging over the bottom corner pocket but Williams knew that if he potted it then his chances of advancing were over.

So Williams then deliberately missed the pink, sending it up the table and into the middle – where his opponent would have fancied his chances at a matchwinning pot – but Williams was able to tuck the cue ball behind the black and snooker Milkins to raucous applause in Bolton.

The three-time world champion had a cheeky grin on his face as he looked back at the table and Milkins, knowing that he had pulled off another in the latest of his exceptional safety shots that fans have become accustomed to over the years.

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When footage emerged on social media of the shot it led many supporters to laud it as the ‘shot of the year’ even though he hadn’t potted a ball and went on to lose the frame and match after Milkins was able to escape.

Writing on X (formerly known as Twitter) @2fowler7 was among those to ask: “Shot of the year?” While @SeanShocks went one further and said: “That is probably the best snooker shot I’ve ever seen.”

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Williams continued to receive plaudits as he was compared to some of the greatest players of all time. @lux_davo wrote: “Unbelievable. MW highlight reel is right up there with Ronnie (O’Sullivan), (Judd) Trump and Jimmy (White)!”

Although some joked that it was a poor miss, perhaps not realising that Williams would have put himself in a detrimental position by potting the pink, @Markstevel78 added: “Absolute wizard this man, nobody can pull shots out of the bag like him.”

Milkins was able to secure victory as bagging a successful snooker with just the pink and black left on the table is incredibly difficult. He went on to face Barry Hawkins and suffered defeat to the man who also eliminated World Snooker Championship reigning champion Luca Brecel on his way to the semi-finals but Williams will see his tournament fondly remembered by the stunning safety shot that had fans claiming that it was the ‘best of the year’.

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