Champion of Champions: Mark Williams beats Kyren Wilson to reach semi-finals

Mark Williams progressed to the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions tournament by defeating Kyren Wilson 6-5 in Tuesday’s Group Two final.

Wilson came back from 5-3 down to force a decider but Williams did enough to secure victory over the reigning world champion.

Williams, the world number six, went 3-2 up after breaks of 109 and 72, only for England’s Wilson to draw level with a century of his own.

The Welshman then produced runs of 140 and 71 to restore a two-frame advantage in Bolton, but world number two Wilson replied with a 123.

A break of 56 put Williams on the brink of victory in the 10th frame, and although Wilson hit 58 to keep the match alive, Williams did enough to ensure he marched on.

Earlier, Williams beat China’s Bai Yulu, the women’s world champion, in the group semi-finals.

Although the women’s world number four, 21, levelled things up at 1-1, Williams won the next three frames to clinch a 4-1 victory, his highest break of 92 coming in the opener.

Wilson also won his first match on Tuesday 4-1, hitting two centuries against Belgium’s Luca Brecel to romp to victory after the 2023 world champion took the first frame.

Williams follows Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen into the semi-finals of the invitational tournament, where 16 players are divided into four groups of four.

The winners of each group contest the semi-finals and the winner of Sunday’s final will collect a first prize of £150,000.