Mark Williams routs Jack Lisowski to reach first Masters final since 2003

Welshman dominated on safeties and punished errors from his opponent to seize the upper hand

Mark Williams plays a shot during his semi-final match against Jack Lisowski in The Masters at Alexandra Palace. Photograph:  Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Mark Williams plays a shot during his semi-final match against Jack Lisowski in The Masters at Alexandra Palace. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Mark Williams can look forward to his first appearance in the final of The Masters since 2003 after a 6-0 rout of Jack Lisowski in the first semi-final.

Twelve months after suffering a stunning defeat to Neil Robertson, who needed two fouls to recover from 67-26 down in the deciding frame, Williams made sure there was no question of a repeat with a clinical performance.

Williams dominated on the safeties and punished errors from Lisowski to seize the upper hand, and said his performance shows he is over the disappointment of last year.

“I’m enjoying it, I’m in another final, especially after last year,” he said on Eurosport. “A lot of people said, ‘How would you get over that?’ As soon as I walked out I was over it and I’m back in the final now.

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“It’s easy to win but when you lose you have to get over it. I’ve never been worried. If I lost 6-5 from 5-0 up, it wouldn’t have made any difference. I would have said, ‘best of luck Jack’ and move on.”

It means the world number seven is into his first final at the Alexandra Palace – with The Masters still at the Wembley Conference Centre the last time he made it to the last two.