Tour Championship snooker 2024: Mark Williams dominates Mark Allen in semi-final to close in on Ronnie O’Sullivan final

Mark Williams produced a scintillating display in the afternoon session of his Tour Championship semi-final, winning all eight frames against Mark Allen in Manchester.

Williams, the eighth seed, was playing some sublime snooker, showcasing all the facets of his potting and safety game, to which Allen had no answers.

The Welshman sealed the opening frame after making his way to an impressive break of 57, in a run that came to an end after failing to pot a pink to the bottom pocket.

Allen responded with a run of 34 after being thwarted by black to the bottom pocket, opening the door for Williams to clear up the table up to the final black with a well-crafted clearance of 46 to double his lead.

With Allen already falling foul to a Williams snooker, he was left with the cue ball tightly nestled behind the brown but brilliantly escaped.

Williams responded by finding a red to middle pocket and the Northern Irishman could only watch on in his seat as his opponent coasted to a brilliant break of 99 with some delightful potting to move 3-0 ahead.

It was a horrible case of deja vu for Allen, who managed to escape a snooker but left the cue ball nestled in prime position for Williams to dispatch the red.

He cleared up the table quite magnificently with his first century break of the match at 107 to motor into a 4-0 lead, and left Allen desperately looking for answers to stem the Welshman’s flow.

He needed to win at least three of the four frames after the interval to keep his hopes alive, and find a way to stop an opponent who looks close to his imperious best.

That took a major hit when Williams strengthened his hold on the match with another sensational break, this time of 112 to take a 5-0 lead following the re-start.

Williams could only make 31 on his first visit to the table in the sixth frame, but Allen’s attempt at a red was unsuccessful. Williams returned to finish off the frame and carried on in the seventh to take a huge lead

An unanswered 48 from Williams put him on his way to making it eight before too long, but the inevitable was delayed by a couple of nice reds from Allen, who gave himself a foothold in the final frame before the break.

However, with Williams in such fine fettle, the tight frame was decided with a pivotal blue from the Welshman pretty much sealing him the session whitewash.

There was still time for Allen to send the pink off the table, prompting him to offer his hand.