Mark "Welsh Potting Machine" Williams

Williams started playing snooker at an early age, and scored his first century when he was 13. He won his first junior event when he was 11, and it was then that he realised that he wanted to pursue a career as a snooker player. If he hadn't had such talent as a snooker player he could well have followed his father, Dilwyn down the pits to work as a miner. When he was 15 he did a 12 hour shift down the mines. Williams was also a promising Amateur boxer being undefeated in 12 fights as a schoolboy, but he decided to pursue his snooker career instead. He turned professional in 1992, and finished his first season ranked 119, and within three seasons was ranked in the Worlds top 16, breaking into the 16 for the 1996/1997 season.

On April 20, in 2005 he became the first Welshman, and the fifth player in history, to score a maximum 147 break) at the Crucible Theatre during the World Championship. This came in the final frame of a 10-1 first round victory over Robert Milkins. But he lost in the second round to Ian McCulloch 13-12, in a high quality match.