91Èȱ¬

Mark Williams saw off a spirited fightback to beat Mark Selby 10-7 and win the British Open in Cheltenham.

Welshman Williams, 48, led throughout the match, but Selby cut the deficit to one frame at 8-7.

But Williams ground out the final two frames, despite trailing in both, to secure his third British Open success and 25th ranking title.

"It was unbelievable towards the end, and both of us were feeling the nerves a bit," he said.

Williams' win means he becomes the second-oldest winner of a ranking title in history. Ray Reardon is the oldest, winning the Professional Players Tournament at the age of 50 in 1982.

But he had to fight to hold off four-time world champion Selby, 40.

"How I managed to win that last frame, I don't know," added Williams. "I never expected I could still get to finals at 48 and to win, playing someone like Mark Selby, what can I say?

"These things don't come along too often at my age, so I am just going to enjoy this one."

The pair had met four times in finals previously, winning two apiece.

Williams opened up a three-frame lead in the first session following breaks of 110 and 55, but Selby kept in touch, securing breaks of 98 and 73 to trail at the end of the second session 5-3.

Williams moved 7-5 ahead at the interval before Selby again hit back, eventually getting to 8-7 and setting up a tense climax.

But after Williams had cleared with a break of 69 to take the penultimate frame, Selby missed a red, giving his rival the chance to pot the black and wrap up victory.

It is 26 years since Williams won his first British Open in 1997, with his other success in 2021.