Early career Williams was born in
Cwm, near
Ebbw Vale, in the Welsh county of
Gwent (now the county borough of
Blaenau Gwent). He started playing snooker at an early age and won his first junior event when he was eleven years old; it was then that he decided to pursue a career as a snooker player. He scored his first
century break when he was thirteen and had achieved his first
maximum break by the time he was eighteen. In January 1991, Williams reached the final of the junior event at the
World Masters but lost 1–6 to
John Higgins. Williams was one of 173 players who all turned professional in 1992. He finished his first season ranked 119th out of 595 professional players; the rankings were based on results over two seasons, and Williams was one of only four first-season professionals to be ranked within the top 128. Three years later, he had entered the top 16 in the
world rankings. His first ranking tournament win came in January 1996, when he won the
Welsh Open title, beating
John Parrott 9–3 in the final. He failed to qualify for the
1996 World Championship but in October 1996 he won the first ranking event of the new season, the
Grand Prix, defeating surprise finalist
Euan Henderson 95. He won the
British Open in April 1997, beating
Stephen Hendry 9–2 in the final. At the
1997 World Championship, he was drawn against his coach
Terry Griffiths, who was making his last appearance at the Crucible as a participant. Williams eventually defeated Griffiths 10–9 on the black, but he then lost 813 to Hendry in the last 16. He took his first
Masters title in February 1998, defeating Hendry 10–9 in the final, which ended in a in the , after Williams had recovered from 6–9 down. He reached the semi-finals of the
1998 World Championship, losing 14–17 to
Ken Doherty. The following year, he made it through to the final of the
1999 World Championship and finished the tournament as runner-up to Hendry, losing the final 1118.
1999–2005 Williams had a very successful
1999–00 season, winning both the
UK Championship and the
World Championship. These results, along with another ranking title at the
2000 Thailand Masters and three runner-up positions, allowed him to capture the world number one position for the first time. At the UK Championship in November 1999, he defeated Hendry 9–6 in the semi-final before beating his fellow countryman
Matthew Stevens 10–8 in the final. In the 2000 World Championship final, he recovered from 7–13 behind against Stevens to eventually win 1816. Williams was the first left-handed player to win the
World Championship at
The Crucible. He also produced a notable comeback in his semi-final match against Higgins, coming from 10–14 down to win 17–15. He won only one ranking event in the
2000–01 season—the
2000 Grand Prix—with a 9–5 victory over
Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He was a runner-up in two other ranking events: the
2000 UK Championship, where he lost 4–10 to Higgins in the final; and the
2000 China Open, where he was beaten 3–9 by O'Sullivan. This was enough for him to retain his number one world ranking, although his title defence at the
2001 World Championship ended in the second round with a 12–13 defeat to
Joe Swail. In the
2001–02 season, Williams struggled to find his best form from previous seasons and again won only one ranking tournament—the
2002 China Open—where he defeated
Anthony Hamilton 9–8 from 5–8 down in the final. However, he was then defeated by Hamilton 9–13 in the second round of the
2002 World Championship and subsequently lost the number one world ranking to O'Sullivan. The
2002–03 season was exceptional for Williams as he won all three
Triple Crown events: the
2002 UK Championship,
2003 Masters and the
2003 World Championship. He was only the fourth player after Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and John Higgins to hold the three titles simultaneously, and only the third player after Davis and Hendry to have won them all in one season. He beat Doherty 10–9 in the UK Championship final, and he beat Hendry 10–4 in the Masters final. Before the 2003 World Championship, he had a scare when his cue was damaged and bent on his flight with
Ryanair on his way to play in the
Irish Masters, but he had it repaired before the tournament. He had a relatively untroubled route to the 2003 World Championship final, with wins over
Stuart Pettman 10–2,
Quinten Hann 13–2, Hendry 13–7 and
Stephen Lee 17–8. In the final against Doherty, he developed a 10–2 lead and appeared to be heading for an emphatic victory, before Doherty fought back to tie the match 16–16. Williams regained his composure to win the last two frames and lift the world trophy for the second time. The
following season, he lost in the first round of the
2003 UK Championship to
Fergal O'Brien, ending his record run of 48 tournaments in which he had won his first match. In February 2004, he was unable to defend his title at the
Masters; after defeating Stevens in the first round, he then lost a close match to
Paul Hunter 5–6 in the quarter-finals. His title defence at the
2004 World Championship ended with an 11–13 defeat in the second round to
Joe Perry. He endured a run of poor form over the
2004–05 season, including a first-round defeat to
Jimmy White at the
Masters where he lost 5–6. On 20 April 2005, at the
World Championship, Williams became the first Welshman and the fifth player in history to score a maximum break at the Crucible in the World Championship. This came in the final frame of a 10–1 first-round victory over
Robert Milkins, winning him £161,000 in prize money, but he then lost in the second round to
Ian McCulloch 12–13.
2006–2009 On 26 March 2006, Williams won the 16th ranking event of his career, and his first in two and a half years—the
2006 China Open in
Beijing—defeating Higgins 9–8 in the final. The victory helped Williams retain his place in the world rankings. He also performed well at the
2006 World Championship, beating Hamilton 10–1 and
Mark Selby 13–8 to set up a quarter-final clash with O'Sullivan. It was the first time the two had met in a match at the Crucible, and their well-publicised rivalry brought some extra tension to the encounter (although O'Sullivan has since said that the former feud has been replaced by friendship and mutual respect). In a closely contested match, O'Sullivan eventually won 13–11. It was revealed during the
2005–06 season that Williams and his coach Griffiths had parted company. Williams won the
Pot Black trophy in September 2006. In the final against Higgins, he compiled a century break of 119 which was the highest break in the history of the tournament. However,
2006–07 turned out to be perhaps the worst season of his career, as he lost his first match in a string of tournaments, including the
2007 Masters where he was whitewashed 0–6 by
Neil Robertson, and the
2007 World Championship where he lost 9–10 to Swail. At the
2007 UK Championship, some of his previous form returned as he defeated
Ricky Walden 9–3 in the last 32, before facing
Mark Allen in the last 16; after trailing 0–4 and 1–5, Williams produced a comeback to win eight successive frames for a 9–5 victory. His run ended in the quarter-finals, where he lost to
Stephen Maguire 5–9. After a 2–6 first-round loss to Doherty at the
2008 Masters, Williams revealed that he was considering retirement from the game if he dropped out of the top 32 and was forced to play in the qualifying competitions, although he was then only 32 years old. He later commented that the statement had been blown out of proportion, and that he intended to remain on the professional circuit. He began to show more consistency for the remainder of the season, reaching the last 16 of three ranking events as well as a run to the quarter-finals of the
2008 China Open, where a 3–5 loss to
Ryan Day deprived him of a place in his first semi-final for two years. He was defeated 7–13 by O'Sullivan in the second round of the
2008 World Championship, which forced him out of the world's top 16 and pushed him into the qualifiers for the next season. It was announced on 8 July 2008 that Williams had split from his management company 110 Sport, as O'Sullivan and Maguire had done previously. In the
2008–09 season, he suffered three qualifying defeats but also reached the quarter-finals of the
2008 UK Championship, where he beat both Selby and
Graeme Dott 9–7, before narrowly losing 8–9 to
Ali Carter. He qualified for the
2009 World Championship but lost 7–10 to Hendry after leading 7–5. Towards the end of the match, Williams was hampered by having problems with his .
2009–2013 The
2009–10 season started badly for Williams when he broke his wrist in a fall at home less than a month before the
2009 Shanghai Masters, which was the first ranking event of the season. He played in Shanghai despite the injury, losing in the second round 15 against Higgins. He reached the semi-finals of the
2009 Grand Prix, where after making a 142 century break (the highest of the tournament) he was defeated 16 by
Ding Junhui. He was leading Dott 62 at the
2009 UK Championship when Dott retired due to illness. Williams then lost 89 against
Peter Lines in the last 16. At the
2010 Masters, he won in the first round 63 against Carter to progress to the quarter-finals, despite being involved in a traffic accident the day before the match. It was reported that someone had driven into the back of the car that was carrying Williams and Hendry to a restaurant. He was then narrowly defeated 56 by O'Sullivan in the semi-finals. After these signs of form, in April 2010 Williams won his first ranking tournament in four years: the
2010 China Open. He met Ding in the final and, despite trailing 35 at one stage, he eventually won the match 106. This was his 17th ranking event win and his third
China Open title. After the victory, Williams said: "I'm over the moon to win again. It's been a long time coming but I've kept working hard and I felt that in the end the results would come." At the
2010 World Championship, he lost his second-round match against O'Sullivan 1013. Williams opened the
2010–11 season by winning the first event of the
Players Tour Championship, defeating Maguire 40 in the final. The event was a new addition to the snooker calendar introduced by
Barry Hearn, whose appointment as the new Chairman of World Snooker had been supported by Williams. Finishing sixth on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, Williams was selected to compete in the
2010 Premier League—marking the first time that he had competed in the event for five years. However, he failed to qualify for the semi-finals. He reached the final of the
2010 UK Championship, his run including a 98 victory over Murphy in the semi-finals after trailing 68. He lost in the final 910 against Higgins, after earlier leading 72 and 95; he was also 29 points ahead in the 17th frame with only the colours remaining, and Higgins needed a snooker to stay in the match. His next tournament was the
2011 Masters, where he lost 46 in the first round against Ding. Williams won the first ranking event of 2011, the
German Masters, defeating Selby 97 in the final. At the
2011 China Open, he lost in the first round 45 against Lee, after making four centuries. At the
2011 World Snooker Championship, he defeated Day 105 in the first round and
Jamie Cope 134 in the second round. He then won his quarter-final against Allen 135, and in doing so he reached the semi-final stage for the first time since 2003, but he lost 1417 against Higgins. He was partnered with Stevens to represent Wales at the
2011 World Cup, and they reached the semi-finals, losing 14 against China. Williams then won through to the final of the
2011 Australian Goldfields Open but lost 89 against Bingham, after leading 85 at one stage of the match. He also lost from a winning position in the final of the next major ranking event, the
2011 Shanghai Masters. His run included a 65 win over Robertson in the semi-finals, and he led Selby 97 in the final before losing the last three frames for a 910 defeat. With the loss, he also relinquished the world number one spot to Selby. He was beaten in the last 16 of the
2011 UK Championship by Walden, and he reached the quarter-finals in his defence of the
2012 German Masters, where he succumbed 35 to Lee. Williams played in eleven of the twelve
PTC events throughout the season, but could only reach the last 32 twice, in
Event 10 and
Event 11. He was ranked 82nd in the PTC
Order of Merit, a long way outside the top 24 players who made the
Finals. Williams generated controversy ahead of the
2012 World Snooker Championship by stating on his Twitter page that he "hates" the tournament's venue, swore while describing the Crucible Theatre, and said he hoped the event would be played in China soon. A spokesperson from the
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) confirmed that a statement would be released regarding the matter. Drawn to play
Liu Chuang in the first round, Williams won 106 to set up a second-round clash with O'Sullivan, which he lost 613. The result meant that Williams had not beaten O'Sullivan in a ranking event for over a decade. He ended the season ranked world number three. A WPBSA statement revealed that Williams had been fined a total of £4,000 for the comments he had made before the World Championship. Williams was inducted into the
World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame in 2012. His first ranking event of the
2012–13 season was the
2012 Wuxi Classic, where he lost 35 to
Marcus Campbell in the quarter-finals. He went one better at the
2012 Shanghai Masters where he faced
Judd Trump in the semi-finals. Williams fell 15 behind, but he fought back to trail 45 before losing the next frame to come up short of completing a comeback and was defeated 46. He then suffered a significant dip in form as he lost in the first round of several ranking events; after his 36 defeat to
Mark King in the
2012 UK Championship, he said that he was contemplating retirement. During his string of defeats, he managed to beat Stevens in the non-ranking
2013 Masters from 14 down (which would have been 15 had Stevens not missed a crucial pot), before losing 16 to the eventual champion Selby. His poor form continued as he was beaten 15 by
Michael Holt in the last 32 of the
2013 German Masters. At the
2013 China Open in March, Williams won his first match in a ranking event since September with a 52 victory over
Lü Haotian and continued his run by defeating Carter 54, but he then lost 15 to Selby in the quarter-finals. At the
2013 World Championship, he lost in the first round 610 to debuting compatriot
Michael White and admitted afterwards that he could not wait to forget this past season, but he was committed to playing in the next one. Owing to his poor performance in 201213, Williams dropped 12 places in the rankings to world number 15.
2013–2017 At the start of the
2013–14 season, he won the
Rotterdam Open by defeating Selby 43 in the final. This was the second time that Williams had won a title in a
Players Tour Championship event. However, he had a poor season in ranking events, failing to reach a single quarter-final for the first time since 200607. In February, after securing a 43 win over world number one Robertson in the last 32 of the
Welsh Open, he said that he was glad he had ignored Hendry's advice to retire and believed he still had ranking event titles left in him. He had chances to move 30 ahead in the last 16 against
Marco Fu, but eventually lost 24; he said afterwards that the Williams who had won two world titles many years ago was "dead". At the
2014 World Championship, he lost 810 to
Alan McManus in qualifying and was absent from the main stage of the tournament for the first time since 1996. He ended the season as world number 18, the first time in six years that he had finished outside the top 16. Williams lost in the second round of his first two ranking events of the
201415 season. His semi-final match against Allen also ended in a deciding frame, after Williams had trailed 47, but a miss on the final red proved crucial as he lost 89. He was defeated 26 by Maguire in the third round of the
2014 UK Championship. After knocking out Trump 41 to reach the quarter-finals of the
2015 Welsh Open, Williams said that he no longer expected to win tournaments and was more concerned with improving his ranking. He then made two centuries in defeating Fu 51 to earn a place in the semi-finals of the event for the first time since 2003. From 35 behind, he took advantage of missed chances by
Ben Woollaston to send their match into a deciding frame, but he lost it and just fell short of reaching the final in his home tournament. He progressed to the final of the minor-ranking
Gdynia Open but was whitewashed 04 by Robertson. Williams took part in the
World Seniors Championship in March 2015 despite only being 39 years old, as he would turn 40 before the end of the season, and he won the title by beating O'Brien 21 in the final. After defeating
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 41 in the first round of the
Players Championship Grand Final, Williams defeated both Selby and
Matthew Selt 43. In a rematch of the 2000 final, Williams faced Stevens in the first round of the
2015 World Championship, but he was heavily defeated 210. At the end of 2015, he was knocked out in the second round of the
UK Championship by
Tom Ford 56, after leading 53. He drew O'Sullivan in the first round of the
2016 Masters and was 42 ahead, but the match went to a deciding frame in which Williams missed a risky and lost 56. He was eliminated in the fourth round of the
2016 Welsh Open, where he lost 24 to Selby, and in the first round of three other ranking events, also failing to qualify for the
2016 China Open. However, he was heavily defeated 313 by Ding in the quarter-finals, with a . He beat Higgins 41 at the
2016 Northern Ireland Open, before losing 45 to
Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals. He reached another quarter-final at the
2016 UK Championship but was defeated 26 by O'Sullivan. He made it through to the final of the
2017 China Open where his opponent was Selby. Williams needed to win the match to re-enter the top 16 and avoid having to qualify for the
World Championship. He led 87 but lost the last three frames for an 810 defeat, missing out on his first ranking title for six years. He reached the last-32 qualifying round at the World Championship but was defeated by
Stuart Carrington 710. This was only his second absence from the knockout stage of the World Championship since his first appearance at the tournament in 1997.
2017–2021 After losing his place in the top 16 of the
world rankings in 2017, Williams teamed up with his friend
Lee Walker who worked as a coach for Stephen Feeney's SightRight in an effort to revive his career. He won the
Six-red World Championship in September, defeating Un-Nooh 8–2 in the final in
Bangkok; with the scores level at 2–2, Williams won six consecutive frames to seal the victory. He then won his first ranking title after a six-year drought, the
2017 Northern Ireland Open, defeating
Yan Bingtao 9–8 in the final; it was an emotional win for Williams, as he revealed that his wife had been suffering from ill health, and he had considered withdrawing from several tournaments. He faced Selby in the first round of the
2018 Masters, recovering from 3–5 behind to defeat the reigning world champion 6–5, before losing 1–6 to Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals. At the
2018 German Masters, he beat Trump 61 to reach the final where he faced Dott. Williams dominated the final, making six breaks over 50 and one century (a 110) in the eighth frame as he claimed a 9–1 victory. He advanced to the semi-finals of the
2018 World Championship with a 13–8 win over Carter. Williams stated that if he won the World Championship he would do his press conference naked. He played Barry Hawkins in the semi-finals and Hawkins proved to be his most difficult opponent of the tournament so far: Williams levelled the match at 15–15 and secured two more frames to win 17–15. Reaching his first World Championship final since 2003, he came up against fellow "
Class of '92" member, Higgins. The match was described as one of the best finals in the history of the tournament, Williams winning 18–16 to claim his third world title. Aged 43, this made him the oldest winner since Reardon, who had won the title in 1978 aged 45. After winning the final, Williams thanked his late sponsor Ron Skinner who had died two months earlier, and his wife for convincing him not to retire. As promised, he appeared naked at the press conference later, but he was instructed to wear a towel. As world champion, Williams won the second event of the new season, the
2018 World Open. Recovering from 0–3 behind in his quarter-final against
Jack Lisowski to win 53, he then came back from 2–5 down in his semi-final against
Noppon Saengkham to win 6–5. In the final against
David Gilbert, he recovered from another sizeable deficit of 5–9 to win the match 10–9. At the
2018 UK Championship, Williams reached the last-16 round where he took a 40 lead over Maguire but lost 5–6 after his opponent made a comeback. At the
2019 Masters, he lost 3–6 to Robertson, having led 3–1. At the
2019 World Championship, his world title defence ended in the second round with a 9–13 loss to Gilbert. Williams began the
2019–20 season positioned third in the world rankings. In early September, he reached the semi-finals of the
2019 Six-red World Championship, where he lost 5–7 to Higgins. He later reached the final of the
2019 China Championship; having been 5–9 behind to Murphy, Williams won four frames to force a deciding frame, which he lost. During the
2019 UK Championship, Williams commented that he "hates" snooker and would prefer to be playing golf. He then lost 2–6 to Michael White in the second round. After losing 2–6 to
Stuart Bingham in the first round of the
2020 Masters, he admitted that his career was at a "crossroads". He reached the quarter-finals of the
2020 World Championship, where he played O'Sullivan. Williams took a 7–2 lead but ultimately lost the match 10–13. He lost in the first round of the
2021 Masters with a 4–6 defeat to Murphy. Williams won the
2021 WST Pro Series in March, his first title for three years, finishing top of the final group. He defeated long-term rival Higgins 13–7 in the second round of the
2021 World Championship, before losing 3–13 in the quarter-finals to Selby. During the championship, Williams generated some controversy by gently rolling his break shot off the bottom cushion so the cue ball would nestle into the reds, as a safety shot. The WPBSA players association contacted players to ask whether the shot should be banned.
2021–present Williams won his 24th ranking title in August 2021, defeating
Gary Wilson 6–4 in the final of the
British Open. He lost 5–6 to Hamilton in the second round of the
2021 UK Championship after reportedly falling asleep during the match. At the
2022 Masters, he developed a 5–3 lead against Robertson in the semi-finals, but Robertson fought back to win the match, including laying the two snookers that he needed to win the final frame. Williams reached the semi-finals of the
2022 World Championship, where he recovered from 5–12 down against Trump to level the match at 16–16, but Trump won the deciding frame for a place in the final. Williams compiled 16 centuries during the tournament, equalling the record set in 2002 by Hendry for centuries in a single World Championship. At the end of 2022, Williams lost in the first round of the
UK Championship to
Jamie Clarke 3–6, reportedly feeling unwell with an upset stomach during the match. At the
2023 Masters, he beat O'Sullivan for the first time in eight years with a 65 victory in their quarter-final clash. Williams went on to reach the final, where he was defeated 8–10 by Trump. He was eliminated in the second round of the
2023 World Championship by
Luca Brecel, 11–13. In October 2023, Williams defeated Selby 10–7 in the final of the
British Open in
Cheltenham to become the then second-oldest winner of a ranking event. Two months later, he was defeated 5–6 by Ding in the quarter-finals of the
UK Championship. Williams won their eighth frame 101–94, which marked the highest scoring frame in snooker history. In January 2024, he lost in the first round of the
Masters to Carter 4–6. He won the
Tour Championship in April, after a 10–5 victory against O'Sullivan, in which he came from 3–5 down to win seven consecutive frames for the title. At the
2024 World Championship, he suffered a first-round defeat to
Si Jiahui 9–10. In September 2024, Williams reached the final of the
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where he was defeated 9–10 by Trump. Williams had held a 62-point lead in the final frame before he missed a red. In November, he defeated women's world champion
Bai Yulu 4–1 in the opening round of the
2024 Champion of Champions, marking his maiden win at the event, before securing a win over Kyren Wilson in the following round. He went on to win his first
Champion of Champions title with a 10–6 victory over
Xiao Guodong in the final. He was defeated by Bingham 5–6 in the first round of the
2024 UK Championship, and he lost 5–6 to Ding at the same stage of the
2025 Masters. In the build-up to the
2025 World Championship, Williams revealed that he had been suffering issues with his eyesight and was downbeat on his chances at the Crucible, saying "Whoever qualifies is going to be praying they draw me in the first round." There, Williams advanced to the semi-finals after edging past Higgins 13–12 in their last eight clash. The result marked Williams's fifth win in six meetings with Higgins at the Crucible. He then overcame Trump 17–14 in the semi-finals, and aged 50, became the oldest player to reach the final of the World Championship, superseding fellow Welshman Reardon who was 49 when he played the final in
1982. In the final against
Zhao Xintong, Williams lost the opening session 1–7, and trailed 8–17 after the third session. Williams won the opening four frames in the evening, before losing the match 12–18. The following season, Williams won the
2025 Xi'an Grand Prix, defeating Murphy 10–3 in the final. At the age of 50 years and 206 days, he became the oldest player ever to win a ranking event, surpassing Reardon, who had been 50 years and 14 days old when he won the
1982 Professional Players Tournament 43 years previously. Williams also became the first player to win professional titles in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. In January 2026, he lost 2–6 to Allen in the opening round of the
Masters. Williams progressed to the last-16 at the
2026 World Championship, where he was defeated 9–13 by Hawkins. ==Playing style==