Mark Allen sends eight-word message to Mark Williams that says it all

Mark Williams has received glowing praise from after the 49-year-old claimed his first Champion of Champions crown. Five months before his 50th birthday, Welsh potting genius Williams once again proved he's some way from hanging up his cue as he prevailed against Xiao Guodong in Bolton to take home the £150,000 prize.

Evergreen on the baize, Williams stormed into a 5-0 lead in the first session but was pegged back to 5-4 as his in-form Chinese adversary closed the gap. However, the veteran star took five of the next seven frames to win 10-6 and lift the trophy for the very first time in his career.

Afterwards, Williams received widespread praise from across the snooker community. That included from world no.3 Allen, who was knocked out of the tournament himself by the Welshman's opponent, Xiao.

Taking to X on the back of the final, Allen posted: "Ridiculous again from Mark Williams to be still be one of the very best in the game at his age is not normal." He continued with an eight-word statement that said it all about Williams' standing in the game, adding: "One of the all-time greats for sure," before finishing: Enjoy your victory kebab"

Williams, who responded to the post: "ty [Thank you] Pistol." Having beaten Xiao with breaks of 80, 91, 95 and 104 in the final - the Welshman then admitted that he is not considering retirement just yet.

"I'm not going to retire; I'm enjoying it," he said. "What a feeling. I can't really believe it. I'm going to keep playing until I fall off the tour. Whenever that is.

"Winning is obviously good. I don't worry about it if I lose. Just try your best, that's all you can do. The older I'm getting, the more support I'm getting. Perhaps they always support the underdog. It's a nice feeling, and I think that is helping me play better, too, when you have most of the crowd cheering for you."

"I really like my new cue. I was getting slated for changing cues," he added. "It's starting to come good now, and the new cue is the best thing I've ever had in my hands."

Williams beat reigning world champion Kyren Wilson and the in-form Neil Robertson en route to the title. It was the latest milestone in a stellar season which has also seen him reach the lucrative Saudi Arabia Masters final, where he was beaten by 10-9 by Judd Trump, although he still took home a tidy £200,000 for his troubles.