Mark Williams refrained from dropping in an expletive to describe that black that nearly stayed up during his post-match press conference. "I think I played well through the match and the tournament I have not done a lot wrong. I am looking forward to it. I know he's an amateur but we all know he is not," he said.

Zhao Xintong stands one victory away from becoming China’s first winner of the World Snooker Championship after a stunning semi-final defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan. Seven-time O’Sullivan was beaten 17-7 with a session to spare at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre – only the second time the seven-time champion has experienced such a one-sided defeat at the global tournament.