Mark Williams makes huge Wu Yize prediction after defying eye problems to win Crucible epic

Mark Williams may be struggling with his eyesight but is still producing excellent snooker as he showed in a 10-8 win over Wu Yize at the World Championship.

The three-time world champion turned 50 in March and has admitted that he is struggling with blurred vision at the table.

The Welshman has tried out contact lenses and is considering surgery, but is currently battling through the issue and still performing to a tremendous standard.

21-year-old Wu continues his wait for a first victory at the Crucible but again showed his great potential, with breaks of 136 and 120 in defeat.

‘It was just a tough game all the way through,’ Williams told the BBC. ‘Some of the balls he can pot are just incredible.

‘I don’t like saying it because I just beat him, but he’s got the potential to win this tournament absolutely no question. His long-potting was unbelievable.

‘I can’t really outscore him or out pot him but I can still try and outwit him, I suppose.’

Williams has given up on his contact lens experiment and is now waiting for lens replacement surgery in June.

‘I’m seeing about three or four of them [balls] at the time,’ he said. ‘I tried playing with contacts but it’s very difficult, very uncomfortable on the eyes.

‘I’m booked in June 12 to get lens replacement, so hopefully if everything goes ok that can postpone my career for another four or five years.

‘In the last six months I’ve noticed they’ve gone a lot worse than they have been. I’ve held off for as long as I can. I knew the day was going to come when I had to do something about it, so I’ve booked in.

‘It would be funny if I do really well here, what do I do then?’

It was a cracking scrap between the veteran and the youngster, with Williams taking an early lead before Wu hit his stride in style.

The Welshman claimed the first three frames, despite Wu have chances in all three, but then the Chinese star found form, knocking in breaks of 120, 90, 72 and 136 to take the lead.

That was the last dramatic swing of dominance as the rest of the match was tit for tat until its conclusion late on Sunday afternoon.

Neither could shake the other off until Williams finally managed it and scrambled over the winning line.

Wu was 8-7 ahead and made a break of 61 in the 16th frame, only for Williams to brilliantly pinch it to level up.

The 50-year-old then showed his experience, bottle and quality to win the next two and pick up a fantastically hard fought 10-8 win.

Williams will return to face either Barry Hawkins or Hossein Vafaei next and is not fussed who it is.

‘Honestly I’m not bothered, I don’t care who wins,’ he said. ‘Just happy to be coming back, whoever is sat next to me is sat next to me.’

Asked if the form he showed against Wu was enough to land a fourth world title, he said: ‘Calm down now, calm down.’

However, he sounds quietly confident, adding: ‘It’s enough to do some damage to a lot of people. I won the Champion of Champions, lost in the final of the big one [Saudi Arabia Masters].

‘I’ve been playing well all season, really. Even though the results haven’t been showing it the last couple of months because I’m trying other stuff to help myself.’