MARK WILLIAMS has re-ignited his spat with Stephen Hendry after the Welshman returned to form to thrash Jamie Clarke 4-0.
Williams swiped saying, “it’s easy in the commentary box” after Hendry’s harsh critique of Williams’ play at the British Open last month.
Williams returned to his best on Tuesday with a whitewash victory of Clarke to reach the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Open, as he continues to adapt to his new hard-tipped cue.
This comes after he was comfortably beaten 4-1 in the first round in Cheltenham by Malaysia’s Rory Thoras, while trying to defend the title he won last year in style against Mark Selby.
The three-time world champion, who was trying out a new cue, seemed to have trouble with his precision.
His game was heavily criticised during the commentary, with Hendry labelling the world No7’s play as “horrific” before earmarking the new cue as the issue.
Williams defended himself on X, calling Hendry a “tit” and has now bit back at the former snooker player again in round two of their row.
When asked about Hendry’s comments about his new cue, Williams told Eurosport: “It’s easy in the commentary box isn’t it.
“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.”
Hendry, who is one of the greatest players of all time, having bagged seven world titles during his storied career, returned to the sport in 2020, after retiring in 2012.
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However, he has since declined two-year invitational cards from World Snooker and retired for a second time in June.
Hendry, 55, opted to hang up his cue again after struggling to make an impact upon his return to the main tour.
Williams’ disappointing British Open and English Open exits followed a fantastic run in the Saudi Arabia Masters, where he lost out to world No1 Judd Trump in the final.
The Welshman has since spent his time playing pool and revealed he enjoys it more than snooker.
In April, Williams said: “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.”
He then went on to add: “I’m definitely not retiring, but a lot more pool is on the horizon for me.”
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls – and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
