Mark Williams in flying form as pigeon interrupts World Championship

Mark Williams clipped the wings of his friend and protege Jackson Page on a day when a pigeon fluttered onto centre stage at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

The avian interloper flew down from the Crucible’s rafters and briefly alighted on the bottom cushion as Yan Bingtao prepared to break off in the sixth frame of his match against defending champion Mark Selby.

It was ushered out via the players’ entrance, past a bemused Selby who was returning to the arena, and tournament officials later confirmed it had been captured and released unharmed.

Earlier, Williams had soared into the quarter-finals with a session to spare after wrapping up a dominant 13-3 win over 20-year-old Page, who trains at the three-time champion’s club in Tredegar.

Williams produced some of the best form of his career to compile six centuries and eight further breaks of 50-plus as he rendered Friday night’s scheduled concluding session obsolete.

And he revealed he had piled on the agony for his young opponent, whom he had also fleeced in a card game on the eve of what turned out to be the concluding session of their match.

“We had dinner on Thursday night and a game of cards in the hotel reception – I took £15 off him,” revealed Williams. “We will do the same thing again after this match – just chill out.

“If it was anybody else, I’d love to have won with a session to spare. I don’t feel like that playing Jackson. It’s a good learning curve for him and we will see how he bounces back.”

Shell-shocked Page called Williams’ form “ridiculous” but the 47-year-old sought to play down his chances of a fourth crown, insisting: “I ain’t a championship contender. I can’t play much better than that at my age. I cannot improve.”

We had dinner on