‘I lost count’ – Ding Junhui apologises to snooker rival Mark Williams ’10 or 11 times’ during Masters defeat
MARK WILLIAMS was left ruing his luck after Ding Junhui eked his way into the quarter-finals of the Masters.
The Welsh Potting Machine, 49, suffered a frustrating KO after a 6-5 defeat at the hands of his Chinese rival.
Two-time Masters champion Williams had led 5-4 only for Ding to leave his rival in some tricky positions after making errors in both of the final frames.
Ding – who “apologised ten or 11 times” for his good fortune – was able to clear up after smashing into the reds from a missed pot attempt in the penultimate frame.
And in the decider, another missed pot from Ding left the three-time snooker world champion in a tricky position and scratching his head.
After the shocking finale, Williams – who was left needing oxygen at a tournament earlier this month – told Eurosport: “I don’t normally say this but I think the only reason I lost today was the run of the ball.
“He had so much run all the way through the match, really. I’ve had it myself in the past but that was as much run of the ball for a long time that someone’s had against me.
“I was 5-4 up, he’s butchered a long red, smashed them everywhere and I’m on nothing. Last frame he’s butchered one again, left me in trouble and cleared up again.”
Williams later told the BBC: “I lost count of how many times he held his hand up to me to say sorry. He must have done it 10 or 11 times.
“Good luck to him. He made two great breaks. After the interval, none of us can play much better than that.”
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Williams later took to social media to playfully call Ding a “lucky t**t”.
On X – where he has a fitting 147,000 followers – he wrote: “Well played Ding you lucky t**t.
“What a great reception walking in, venue great, crowd great, playing good, great competition.
“See you next year fingers crossed.”
Speaking on Eurosport, former Masters champion Alan McManus took pity on Williams, but insisted luck balanced itself out in the end.
McManus said: “I agree with him in some respects. The running that was going on out there was on Ding’s side of the fence.
“But there was a frame where he played a safety shot and gets cover on the brown, Mark that is, and he won the frame off the back of it.
“All’s fair in love and snooker, as we say. It cuts both ways.”