Mark Williams (snooker player)

Mark Williams

Mark Williams at the 2014 German Masters
Born	(1975-03-21) 21 March 1975 (age 42) Cwm, Ebbw Vale
Sport country	Wales
Nickname	Welsh Potting Machine Sprog The Welsh Wonder
Professional	1992–
Highest ranking	1
Current ranking	15 (as of 18 December 2016)
Career winnings	£4,992,917
Highest break	147 (2 times)
Century breaks	383
Tournament wins
Ranking	18
Minor-ranking	2
Non-ranking	6
World Champion	2000, 2003

Mark James Williams, MBE (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname "The Welsh Potting Machine". He has been ranked the world number 1 for a total of three seasons in his career.

The first left-handed player to win the World Championship, Williams has won 18 ranking tournaments (fifth on the all-time list), including the UK Championship twice, in 1999 and 2002. He has also won the Masters on two occasions, in 1998 and 2003. Williams' most successful season in his career to date was the 2002/2003 season, when he won the acclaimed treble of tournaments (known as the Triple Crown): the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship. He is the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. Following his second World Championship his form declined, and he dropped out of the top 16 following the 2007/2008 season, but regained his place for 2009/2010. As a prolific break-builder, Williams has compiled more than 350 century breaks during his career.