Mark Williams's R1 Post Match Interview

[PatBlock]

Mark talks about his controversial break off.

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[Mark187187]

I don't think it's at all controversial. Steve Davis did the same break in spells towards the end of his career for the same reasons Mark outlines and others have done it more recently, albeit not every game (e.g. ROS at the 2019 NI open). Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson both contributed to an article Neal Foulds wrote last year about this type of break, saying it is a good tactic, particularly if breaking in a final frame decider, so it really isn't anything new.

Quinten Hann smashing the pack was probably more noteworthy and controversial, mainly because it only actually had the desired outcome about 1 out of 5 of less times.

[PatBlock]

I don't think it's at all controversial. Steve Davis did the same break in spells towards the end of his career for the same reasons Mark outlines and others have done it more recently, albeit not every game. Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson both contributed to an article Neal Foulds wrote last year about this type of break, saying it is a good tactic, particularly if breaking in a final frame decider, so it really isn't anything new.

Quinten Hann smashing the pack was probably more noteworthy and controversial, mainly because it only actually had the desired outcome about 1 out of 5 of less times.

Yes I agree, can't believe they are seriously considering banning it.

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[Cue crafty]

The shot has been around a long time, I can remember Alex playing a two cushion version I think of the shot for a while and Steve Davis too. So why ban it now, no point imho. It does no harm.

What's more interesting is that the break off shot is becoming a disadvantage....

[fkhan]

Nothing out of the rule book to break off like that. Once in a while is fine IMO. If all players start doing it then it would raise eyebrows.

[MrRottweiler]

Mark talks about his controversial break off.

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Thanks for the video I've not seen Mark in his first round match but from this video I know what they are talking about and the rules are simple. It's either allowed or not allowed and if you can exploit something to your advantage you do it. No question. The standard break off is something we're used to but if there is nothing in the rules to do something else then why not. As much as I hope John Higgins wins I would still raises a glass to Mark if he wins.

[balkend]

Once you start banning shots its bad news , its not like football where you foul another player or bring him down in a tackle . If it does not become a widespread tactic why make a fuss ? It does show how the standard of playing has improved so much that one first long red potted from baulk can result in a massive winning break . The game
has a great number of high standard players now

[Mark187187]

I don't get why they don't just break thin off the bottom red, plain ball. It take the blue out of the equation, and means you can break softer without spreading the reds so wide.

[PatBlock]

I don't get why they don't just break thin off the bottom red, plain ball. It take the blue out of the equation, and means you can break softer without spreading the reds so wide.

Probably just wary of hitting it too thick.

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[tomwalker147]

Honestly when league snooker resumes i'm going to use it against certain players, it will absolutely destroy their brains for the entire frame.
Can't see what the issue is, Mark's also the fastest player on tour it's not like he's a slouch.

[itsnoteasy]

The issue with this break, is the opponents response to it. If they started just feathering the white into the pack and getting a re rack after re rack, then something would have to be done. Williams is getting away with it because of the sporting nature of his opponents who just want to get on with the game.

[Starsky]

The issue with this break, is the opponents response to it. If they started just feathering the white into the pack and getting a re rack after re rack, then something would have to be done. Williams is getting away with it because of the sporting nature of his opponents who just want to get on with the game.

I disagree , his opponents are playing the safety shot to baulk as they have the advantage safety wise after this break off and can put Williams in trouble which they’ve done a few times .

My opinion is you can play any break off shot you want within the rules . He’s doing it tactically both as not to leave anything and knowing that it’s getting to some opponents mentally . There is so much mental stuff to this game that if this gives you an advantage then so be it as surely thats the point ?

[Odrl]

A few years back I was playing in an online snooker league and one of the players suddenly decided to break off like this in every match. It added 15 minutes of negative safety to the start of every other frame, but in the end it worked out okay for him, because his results improved a little. The game was World Championship Snooker 2004, so if you've ever played it you will remember that clearing the table on normal difficulty wasn't really all that difficult. It was all about the safety. I think that shot got on players' nerves a little, so they must have started playing more recklessly against him just to move things along. I remember he even started rolling into the pack when the opponent broke off, so it took quite a bit of patience to get a scoring chance against him.

Seeing that break off played this week has brought back some fun memories. Even McGill's reply to the side cushion is exactly how it used to play out in that game, except that the player in question would keep playing into the pack, with no intention of ever playing back to baulk.

I remember having to play him in our version of the World Championship, in the semi-finals, which was the proper best-of-33 length and could easily take more than 20 hours over multiple sessions. I decided I couldn't be bothered to deal with his antics, so I had a little practice session before our match and came up with a break off that left a loose red just below the pack (towards the black spot). If he rolled into the pack, he would be leaving that on. So he had to play conventional safety, was out of practice with it, and his game basically fell apart. Good times.

[mikee]

I don't get why they don't just break thin off the bottom red, plain ball. It take the blue out of the equation, and means you can break softer without spreading the reds so wide.

Yes that used to be way in the old days ,put the white near the yellow ,play plain ball white off the end red quite thin ,and you then get the white coming off yellow side of blue ,and even if you hit a baulk colour ,very little chance of leaving an easy long red in to the top left pocket ,I’ve gone back to that break over the last year and it’s much more consistent and safe .White ball in the D near brown with side swinging it round the blue can always go wrong and I think these modern fast cloths don’t help the modern game break ,too many easy splits on the reds to be left for a long pot .As for the Williams back cushion break ,probably leave it as it is ,chance are it will be a fad ,any way .Changing any aspect of the game is not the way to go ,I’m not a fan of banning anything ,snookers rules are fine as is .