‘I knew I couldn’t win’ – Mark Williams on ‘strange’ Hong Kong Masters experience

Mark Williams admitted he only made the last minute trip to the Hong Kong Masters for the substantial prize money, saying he had no chance of beating Neil Robertson in their quarter-final clash.

The Welshman got the call to play in Hong Kong on Wednesday after Zhao Xintong tested positive for Covid after travelling to the tournament.

The three-time world champion flew from the UK on Thursday and only landed a few hours before his clash with Robertson, taking on the Australian with no preparation and almost no sleep.

The 47-year-old put up an impressive fight, starting the match with a huge break of 133 and making further efforts of 80 and 55, but he succumbed to a 5-3 defeat, which he said was inevitable in the circumstances.

However, the hectic trip was well worth it for the financial reward, and also to play in the enormous Hong Kong Coliseum, which is set to break the world record for the biggest snooker crowd in history with around 9,000 expected for Sunday’s final.

‘I knew I couldn’t win today. Anyone who follows me on Twitter knew I couldn’t win today, all I came for was the £22,500. I’ve got to be honest, I knew I couldn’t win,’ Williams told WST.

‘I had plenty of chances, but kept missing easy balls, but I had a couple of breaks which I wasn’t expecting.

Marco Fu enjoys 'special' win at Hong Kong Masters after thinking snooker career was over

Mark Williams takes on manic schedule after last minute Hong Kong Masters call-up

Hong Kong Masters TV channel, live stream, UK time, draw, schedule, prize money and odds

‘It was just nice to play in this arena, I might not play here again, I don’t know. It’s some arena, absolutely massive and I’m glad I’ve done it at least once.’

On his whirlwind visit, Williams explained: ‘I’m