Mark J Williams, MBE (Wales)

Mark J Williams broke into the snooker elite in the 1995/96 season. In that year he won his first major tournament, the 1996 Welsh Open. In 1998 he won the Benson & Hedges Masters by beating Stephen Hendry on a respotted black in the final.

In the 1998/99 season he won three ranking tournaments; the 1998 Irish Open, the 1999 Welsh Open and the 1999 Thailand Masters. This makes him only the fourth player in history to win three ranking titles in one season. Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins are the other three players to have managed this feat.

In 2000 he finally became world champion by beating long-time friend and rival, Matthew Stevens 18-16 in the final after being behind the entire match. In 2003 and 2018 he won it again.

Another important title was the 1999 Liverpool Victoria UK Championship.

He also won the very first Players Tour Championship event in 2010. He later added the 2013 Euro Tour 2.

Previously he has also won the 1994 Benson & Hedges Championship.

Until going down 9-7 to Fergal O'Brien in the 2003 Travis Perkins UK Championship Mark Williams won his first match in 48 straight ranking tournaments!

Mark J Williams made four centuries against Stephen Lee in the first round of the 2011 Bank of Beijing China Open, and still lost 5-4.

Williams shares the record for most tons by one player in a tournament. He made 16 centuries during the 2022 World Championship.