What an escape from Mark Williams! Off four cushions, he lands perfectly in among the bunch of three reds around the pink.
The following black doesn’t go in – it was tricky with the cue ball tight on the cushion – but he’s left nothing for Zhao Xintong to go at.
Mark Williams has a lead of 30 with seven reds left but he catches the brown with a safety shot, leaving Zhao Xintong a long red to gobble up.
He lays a snooker behind the big target of yellow and brown – Williams in trouble.
“An edgy start,” says Ken Doherty in commentary, as Zhao Xintong runs out of prime position and then misses a long red.
Mark Williams is back to the table but with pink and black currently out of commission.
Can Mark Williams recover? Will Zhao Xintong continue in the same vein? And what’s on the menu in the Crucible press room on finals night? Those are among the burning questions this evening.
I am happy to report a Sunday roast is being served (and just consumed) but I elected to swerve a huge slab of chocolate cake for afters.
He pots a fine red and then goes full-blooded to pot a black along the cushion dead weight. If he missed, he was leaving a lot.
But shortly afterwards, a pink to the left centre does not drop and Zhao Xintong will get a first chance to make a meaningful contribution this evening.
Everyone on their way to taking home this beautiful trophy has a little wobble. For most players this is their life’s work. You are stood about to climb Mount Everest and sometime it will hit. It is going to hit Zhao Xintong at some stage.
Mark Williams’ highest break of the match – an effort of 86 – earns the world number six only his second frame of the final.
