Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins may see the end of their careers in sight, but Mark Williams has no intention of hanging up his cue any time soon.
The three legendary member of the Class of 92 are still going strong in their sixth decades, all still part of snooker’s elite top 16.
Williams accepts that they ‘aren’t the players we used to be’ but they all remain a stern challenge for any other professional on the table.
O’Sullivan and Higgins have both suggested that they are into the final two years of their epic careers, with the 2028 World Championship possibly their last.
Much could change between now and then, but it would be a huge moment for snooker if two of the all-time greats both departed at the same time.
Williams says he has no intention in joining his ‘compadres’ and riding off into the sunset with them, in fact, he will keep playing for as long as he possibly can.
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‘The other two have said they are going to finish in a couple of years, I’m going to be carrying on for whatever it is. I’ll be playing as much as I can,’ said the Welshman at this week’s English Open.
‘I’ll be playing in the amateur game or anything. You don’t have to worry about me. The other two, my compadres, say they will retire in a couple of years and that is good news for the rest. I’m going to carry on, even when I go down the rankings.’
The 51-year-old added: ‘We aren’t the players we used to be. John is nowhere near as good as he was. Ronnie isn’t a patch on what he used to be. They put a time limit on it and I’ve accepted I’m nowhere near as good as I was.’
Speaking at the recent Wuhan Open, where Williams made the quarter-finals, he said: ‘I’m not great at anything anymore. Long pots, break-building.
‘But what I am good at is just trying 100 per cent every time. That’s the reason I’m winning matches.
‘It’s not because I’m out-potting anyone or out-scoring anyone. It’s just because I’m sticking in there and just trying my best to win.’
Last month O’Sullivan said of his future in the game: ‘I’ll give myself another year-and-a-half, to see if I can find something. If I can’t I think it’s good to draw a line under it and move on to other things that are more suitable to me.’
He explained: ‘I asked Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, I spoke to them a couple of times and they said they probably played 10 years longer than they should have done. Because you always have this feeling, I want to play like I used to, because it’s a nice feeling.
‘I’m not going to waste 10 years. I’ve wasted three or four, in my opinion, three or four years where it’s been not great.’
Higgins told Metro at last week’s British Open: ‘I think it’ll be the next couple of years. I think so. Obviously Ronnie says he’s thinking about going around 2028, so I’ll just slip out the back door.’
O’Sullivan and Higgins are not at the English Open this week, but Williams is and takes on Matt Selt in the last 32 on Wednesday evening.