Williams edged out in Crucible thriller

Mark Williams joined another former winner, John Higgins, in slipping out of the Embassy World Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre tonight.

Second seed Williams lost 13-12 to Ian McCulloch in a see-saw encounter, the world number 17 from Preston eventually coming through a tense decider to book a quarter-final against Alan McManus starting tomorrow.

Although disappointed to have lost in round two for the second consecutive year, Williams has the compensation of standing to collect £161,000 if the maximum break he made in his first match is not equalled.

"Ian played very well, very consistently, and every time I missed he punished me,'' said two-time champion Williams. ``If he keeps playing like that there's no question he can win the tournament.

“I’m an excellent winner but also a very good loser and I couldn’t have played a better match in defeat.”

McCulloch has until now been regarded as something of a journeyman within the sport but could be on the verge of a major breakthrough.

“Wins like that don’t just come over three sessions but through 10 years of hard practice,” said McCulloch.

“It makes all the extra hours I’ve spent on my exercise bike and on the practice table worthwhile. If that’s what I have to do to be successful I’ll do it.”

Shaun Murphy had earlier created another shock when he produced a stunning performance to win 13-8 against Higgins.

The 22-year-old, who began the tournament as the third lowest-ranked player in the field at number 48, had never won a match on his two previous visits to the Crucible.

Higgins, the 1998 world champion, had looked in control when leading 4-1 on Saturday night but his opponent strung together five consecutive frames to move 6-4 ahead and then sustained his terrific form.

Entering the concluding session 9-7 up, Rotherham-based Murphy allowed the fifth seed only one more frame and clinched the biggest success of his career by rattling in a brilliant 115 break.

“That’s the best anyone has ever played against me here, including Ronnie O’Sullivan when he beat me in the final four years ago,” said a shell-shocked Higgins. “He played fantastic snooker and kept me under pressure.

“But I didn’t put any pressure on him because I missed a few chances and it could have been a different story if I had taken them. I think it gave him confidence to keep seeing me miss.”

Murphy now faces six-times former champion Steve Davis and the remarkably mature and grounded youngster will certainly not be overawed.

“Since I started playing snooker as a kid I have gone into every match believing I could win,” said the British Open semi-finalist.

“I had played John twice before and lost but now I have beaten him. I’ve already beaten Steve Davis and I’m looking forward to having another go.”

Another high-profile casualty was Jimmy White, who gave his fans one last hurrah before he was sent tumbling out by Matthew Stevens.

’The Whirlwind’ went into the concluding session of his second-round match 12-4 down with his opponent needing only one more frame to secure a place in the quarter-finals against Stephen Hendry.

And the Welshman was made to wait 25 minutes to wrap up his victory as the six-times World Championship runner-up made the scoreline look slightly more respectable by knocking in a winning break of 68.

But a missed long green early in frame 18 proved to be White’s final shot of the tournament, Stevens compiling a 69 to complete a 13-5 success having done the damage by winning seven out of eight last night.

“In a way there was quite a bit of pressure on me today because I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible,” said the Welshman, beaten in the final by compatriot Williams five years ago.

“Jimmy had beaten me the last couple of times we had played, but I felt confident going into the match and was really up for it.”

White had failed to make a half-century in the opening two sessions and could not understand why he had performed so poorly.

“I’m just devastated that I didn’t take my practice form onto the match table,” said the 42-year-old Londoner.

“Last night I was just atrocious. I couldn’t hit the right side of the ball and I was stabbing at shots.

“I thought I had a chance of winning this year but I didn’t produce my form at all. Hopefully I will be ranked in the top eight next season though, so I’ve a lot to look forward to.”