Mark Williams intends to participate in more Chinese 8-Ball pool tournaments in the coming months, mentioning that he currently finds the game more enjoyable than snooker.
The 49-year-old is still performing well in the snooker world and is currently competing in the Tour Championship this week, demonstrating his strong performance as only the top 12 on the one-year ranking list qualify for the event.
However, he has admitted that he doesn’t expect to perform well as he has been in China competing in the Joy Cup World Heyball Masters Grand Finals, a significant Chinese 8-Ball event with a top prize of $700,000 (£557,900).
The Welsh Potting Machine was defeated by Zheng Yubo, a renowned player, in the last 32 in Qinhuangdao. However, he is eager to return to the pool table as soon as possible and would be interested in facing Zheng in both snooker and Chinese 8-Ball.
‘I enjoyed every minute of it,’ he said after his last match in China. ‘It’s nice to play the best player in the world, the best Chinese pool player ever.
‘I knew I wasn’t going to beat him, I didn’t have much chance of winning really because it’s the first time I’ve seen a really top player play like that, I think he missed one ball in the whole match.
‘But I loved it and if someone can show me how to break off then I can definitely get a lot close to him. I’d love to play more Chinese pool. It would be nice some time this year maybe if me and Yubo can get a challenge match. He plays me at snooker and I play him at Chinese 8 ball again and I’ll practice a bit more. I’ve seen him play snooker, he makes 147s, so I know how good he is. I think that would be a good challenge match.
‘I probably enjoy playing Chinese 8 ball rather than snooker, to be honest. I just want to play more, I’d like to play more tournaments this year to see if I can get any better.’
WIlliams takes on Tom Ford in his opening match at the Tour Championship, starting on Monday evening, and he repeated his intention to play more pool in the near future.
‘I’m definitely not retiring, but a lot more pool is on the horizon for me,’ he told ITV.
Other snooker players were involved in the event in Qinhuangdao, with the likes of Elliot Slessor and Jimmy Robertson picking up some wins.
Speaking earlier in the season, Williams said he expects more snooker professionals to get involved as and when they can.
‘I think if it doesn’t clash with tournaments I think a lot more (snooker players) will play in it,’ Williams told SportsBoom. ‘I’m going the other way and if a couple of the tournaments do clash with snooker events then I’ll pick the Chinese pool over the snooker tournaments.
‘I enjoy it. It’s the number one game in China. The following that it’s got is massive. The prize money is big, but I don’t think a snooker player has a chance against the top Chinese boys, unless you really practice hard at it.’
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