Mark Williams has revealed he would have followed his father down the coal mine had he not made it in snooker.
The three-time world champion grew up in the small Welsh town of Cwm, where his dad, Dilwyn, grandad and many of his friends’ fathers worked as miners. The 48-year-old’s modest upbringing made him appreciate the importance of hard work, which has been keen to his success on the baize over the years.
"You see the struggles they have back in the day so you appreciate what you’ve got,” he told the Telegraph. “If I didn’t make it as a snooker player I’d have been a miner like my father and his father. That’s where everyone ended up. No work about.”
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His father was key to him avoiding a gruelling life down the pit, helping him bunk off school to hone his potting skills.
“He was the one who would pretend I was going to school and take me to the snooker. My mother thought I was in school,” he revealed. “He was the main one who took me to junior tournaments. All that petrol money. It was tough times for miners.”
Williams did sample his dad’s trade though – and it was an experience he would rather forget.
"I got snuck in with these 10 or 15 men – snuck in the middle – and down the lift,” he recalled. "It was horrific. The battery pack with a light on was nearly as heavy as me. Awful.
"I was glad to get back up. But I said to myself, ‘if I don’t make it in snooker this is where I’m going for 12 hours a day’."
Williams is renowned for his ability to deal with pressurised situations on the table and says that experience helped harden his mindset.
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"A lot of players don't believe it – they think I’m lying – but what’s the point of lying? I just don’t feel nervous or shake,” he explained. "When I missed a pink to win 18-15 against John Higgins [in the 2018 world final] I just missed it.
"I went back to my chair, said, ‘How the f--- did I miss that?’ Sat down, thought, ‘no problem’ and next frame, popped a nice red in the middle and made a frame-winning break.
"I love playing snooker. I’m competitive with everything. If I win, great. If I lose, shake hands and forget about it. Not once have I cared.”
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