Judd Trump had some ‘lovely words’ for Mark Williams after defeat to the Welshman in the World Snooker Championship final on Saturday night.
The 50-year-old became the oldest ever Crucible finalist with a 17-14 victory over the world number one, booking a clash with Zhao Xintong over Sunday and Monday.
Trump had led the contest 7-3 at one stage but Williams was superb over the second two sessions and powered to a fantastic victory.
The world number one took the defeat in magnanimous fashion, with Williams revealing that it was a warm exchange after the final ball was potted.
‘When I shook Judd’s hand at the end he said some lovely words,’ Williams told the BBC. ‘He said, “it’s unbelievable you’re still going at your age. All the best, I hope you win it.”
‘He said something else like, “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but brilliant.” I suppose he’s got to, he’s beat me so many times in deciders!’
Trump accepted that Williams was the better player over the piece, recognising that he could not find the same form he had produced over his first three victories at the Crucible.
‘Not really disappointed. I tried my best. I didn’t quite play as well as I did in the first few games,’ he told the BBC.
‘I think Mark played extraordinarily well from, I think I should have gone 11-9 up and he played unbelievable after that. I didn’t do that much wrong, a few little mistakes on safety.
‘It just wasn’t quite firing, but it wasn’t that far off. When you play someone as good as him, everything is magnified.
‘I just didn’t quite find what I had in the first few games. I think Mark was the more consistent throughout and in the end he really deserved the win.’
Williams is back in a Crucible final for the first time since 2018 when he beat John Higgins to win his third world title.
The usually nerveless Welshman admits that as he made the winning break in the 31st frame he was feeling the pressure, not that you would have known, as he knocked in a century to get over the line.
‘I was starting to twitch towards the end, I’m not going to lie. I did feel a bit of tension in the back arm,’ he said. ‘I’m never normally nervous at hardly any stage, but I was during that break.
‘I can’t believe I’m in another final, I don’t know how I’m doing it!’
He added in the post-match press conference: ‘What an hundred in the end.
‘I was under pressure. I’m not going to lie this time, I felt it at the end as well. To get a hundred break in the last frame to get through to the final, I can’t believe it.’
Williams now faces a man 22 years his junior in the final, China’s Zhao Xintong, who has already knocked out a member of the Class of 92, hammering Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 in the semis.
Asked what his plan is for the dashing break-builder, Williams said: ‘Oh I don’t care, honestly. If I lost 18-0 it’s not the end of the world.
‘I’m just sat here now, tomorrow’s the final, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be here at the start of the tournament, but I’m still here plugging away.
‘I haven’t had an easy match. It’s been 10-8, 13-10, 13-12 on the black, 17-14. I don’t know what’s left in the tank, we’ll have to see.’
The final gets underway at 1pm on Sunday, with Williams and Zhao in a race to 18 frames over four sessions.