Mark Williams is one of those extraordinary players that have made an immortal impression on the snooker world. He is one of the rare talents and used to be right up there with John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

But when you see Williams’ name on the draw nowadays you find yourself wondering what form he’s going to be in for the upcoming tournament.

Williams was known to produce stunning results. He’s won all the big tournaments – the World Championship twice, Grand Prix, Welsh Open, British Open, China Open, Irish Open and UK Championship, some of them several times. He’s also one of the few players who has won the Masters, the UK Championship and the World Championship titles in one season (2002/03). With 16 ranking titles Williams has shown us that he’s a player of amazing ability.

We know what he can do, we just want him to do it more frequently these days. Many of today’s snooker fans miss his performances in the glory days and wish he could find his way back to that form.

This season hasn’t exactly been brilliant. He only reached the fourth round of the qualifying event at Welsh Open. He didn’t manage to get past the last 32 of this year’s World Championship and China Open. At the Shanghai Masters he lost to John Higgins in the last 16.

The UK Championship didn’t go so well either. He won his last 32 match 9-2 but this was only because Graeme Dott had to withdraw due to illness. In his next match he lost 9-8 to Peter Lines, ranked 64th, and produced the biggest shock of the tournament.

Some hope was lit during this year’s Grand Prix though. It was almost as if it was the old Mark Williams playing. He seemed strong and made it to the semi final. He also made the highest break of the tournament (142).

This proves that his talent is still with him and that he might just need to put some more dedication into the game. Finding motivation with a career like Williams’s behind you and with fatherhood on top of everything isn’t easy. A year ago, Williams was even thinking of retiring if he dropped out of the top 32. But he thought better of it and realised that he still has what it takes to provide the world with excellent snooker.

Don’t give up, Mark.