Mark Williams had suffered the effects of whiplash after a minor car crash on Monday evening and felt sore throughout his second round Masters match against Ali Carter; but this had little effect on the Welshman’s performance as he fought bravely through the pain barrier and defeated his opponent 6-3 in the process.

Williams and seven-time world champion, Stephen Hendry, were both involved in the road accident following a night out. The 34-year-old’s car was stationary at the time of the collision, but was shunted from behind at traffic lights. Fortunately, only minor injuries were sustained, and the Welshman was given the green light to play just 24 hours later.

At the end of the first frame, those packed inside Wembley Arena could have been forgiven for questioning whether or not such an incident had even occurred. Williams hit a break of 98 without reply to seal the opening frame, although the amount of time he needed to take each shot – along with a series of slight grimaces every now and then – suggested he had only just been passed fit to play.

Carter went one better in the second frame, compiling a 99, and then took a 2-1 lead in the frame after with a 71 in the third.

Williams recovered, though, and equalised with the highest break of the match. His 102 was arguably the standout moment of the match, as the game became scrappier after the interval.

The scoreline was then reversed once again in the fifth – Williams stumbling to a 66-3 frame win – but Carter again levelled proceedings in the sixth after a break of 98.

As the match became more tense, the errors began to seep into both players’ games. But Williams was clearly up for a scrap-fest and won the next three frames to secure his place in the last eight.

The two-time world champion and Masters winner, who had spent the morning in hospital on painkillers, had performed valiantly and admitted he’d surprised himself at times during the match.

“The pain was ok; it got worse when the tension started to build at the end. It meant I got down to shots slower which might have helped!” the world No. 15 joked.

“I surprised myself, I didn’t expect that and felt good out there. I couldn’t rush any shots because of the pain. That was probably some of the best stuff I have played for some time.

“I’ll try and get a massage tomorrow and hopefully it should get better.”

Williams will now play the man who knocked his fellow passenger, Hendry, out of the tournament, Shaun Murphy, tomorrow evening at 7pm.

Rob Swan