Williams’ cautiousness about going beneath the knife suggests he nonetheless has ambitions to proceed on the baize for years to return – and who can blame him.
Last October, on the age of fifty years and 206 days, he beat the mark set again in 1982 by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon to turn into the oldest winner of a ranking event when he triumphed within the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Even now, having turned 51 final month, he is ranked sixth on the planet going into the World Championship this weekend.
“When I was 45 I said I’d like to see where I am in the rankings when I’m 50,” Williams recalled.
“I’m not retiring, I made that decision years ago. Let’s see where I am in the rankings at 55, that’ll be interesting.”
He could have dominated out retirement however isn’t feeling fairly so assured about his probabilities on the Crucible this 12 months.
“I’m still fighting. I’m still trying and that’s all I can say,” he mentioned.
“I try my best in every tournament and if you win, great, if you lose, that’s not the end of the world.
“I’ve been doing this since I used to be an eight-year-old child. My father was taking place the mines for 30 years, my grandfather for 50 years.
“I’m just travelling around the world playing the stupid game of snooker, getting paid well for it and enjoying it. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
