Mark Williams bites back at Stephen Hendry's cue criticism after whitewash victory over Jamie Clarke
Published 22/10/2024 at 19:42 GMT+1
Mark Williams swiped back at Stephen Hendry's criticism following his disappointing first-round exit at the British Open. Hendry blasted Williams' performance as "horrific" when the Welshman was ousted from the tournament in the first round, and after beating Jamie Clarke 4-0 to open his Northern Ireland Open account, Williams hit back at the retired Scotsman.
'It's easy in the commentary box' - Williams bites back at Hendry criticism
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Williams bit back at criticism from Stephen Hendry, saying "it's easy from the commentary box" after the Scotsman blasted Williams' performance in his early British Open exit.
Williams returned to form on Tuesday with an emphatic 4-0 win over Jamie Clarke to reach the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Open, as he continues to acclimatise to his new hard-tipped cue.
The Welshman exited the British Open in the first round as Rory Thor convincingly took 4-1 victory, to which Hendry labelled the world No. 7's performance as "horrific" and earmarked the new cue as the issue.
But following his whitewash victory in Belfast on Tuesday, Williams snapped back at the Scotsman's comments, suggesting he is in no position to comment on his poor form.
"It's easy in the commentary box isn't it," he told Eurosport. "We've seen his comeback, how that ended up. He can't say too much. Perhaps he should use one, might play a bit better."
Williams' disappointing British Open and English Open exits followed a fantastic run in the Saudi Arabia Masters, where he eventually lost out to Judd Trump in the final.
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The Welshman has since bided his time playing pool, and suggested his run to the Saudi final inadvertently affected him negatively, as he has since "gone off the ball".
"I've been playing more pool than snooker in the last few months and I know my snooker is going to suffer," Williams added.
"But it doesn't matter. Like I said, I got to the final of Saudi Arabia, it's probably a bad thing really because I've gone off the ball – haven't touched my cue, just playing more pool.
"I'm practicing once a week. If I didn't get to the final of Saudi I'd be playing every day."
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'Emphatic finish' - Williams clears the table to secure dominant whitewash over Clarke
Video credit: TNT Sports
Williams' victory was ultimately a welcome relief to a tough recent run, and it started in scrappy style with the Welshman claiming the opening two frames in industrious fashion.
But the 2017 Northern Ireland champion found his groove to rattle home more comfortable frames for the third and fourth, which included a 75 break to clear the table to cap off the dominant display.
Williams said he is continuing to "slowly" get used to his new cue, adding that he would have to suffer before seeing the positive results.
"Getting better slowly," he said. "It's a new cue, so takes a little bit of time getting used to.
"Like in that great film [Roadhouse], Dalton says it'll get worse before it gets better."
The 49-year-old will face a tougher test in the last 32 against Noppon Saengkham, who edged compatriot Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a fast-paced 4-3 showdown.
Stream the 2024-25 Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport and discovery+
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