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| Venue: Alexandra Palace, London Dates: 8 January-15 January |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV and Red Button with uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app |
Mark Williams reached his first Masters final for 20 years with a 6-0 hammering of Jack Lisowski at Alexandra Palace.
Two-time champion Williams, 47, was always in control and his greater experience told after winning a scrappy and hard-fought opener.
He had the better of the tactical exchanges and made three half-centuries to lead 5-0 before sealing his victory in a low-scoring final frame.
The Welshman will face Judd Trump or Stuart Bingham in Sunday’s final.
“It’s got to be up there with one of my best wins for a long time because I don’t get to finals as often as I used to and it gets more difficult the older you get,” Williams told BBC Sport.
“There were no century breaks but I maybe had three or four breaks from positions where the balls weren’t easy. Those breaks are as good as any century. I can’t really outscore Jack, so what can I do? Try and outwit him with safety and win that way.
“I’m probably a better all-around player now than I have ever been.”
Williams went into the contest looking to make amends for his nail-biting defeat by Neil Robertson in last year’s semi-final and did so in emphatic fashion, in the process ending Englishman Lisowski’s hopes of a first major title.
Williams’ superior tactical play came to the fore as he picked off Lisowski’s errors to make breaks of 52, 74 and 68.
The 31-year-old, who is regarded as arguably the best player in the world not to have claimed any silverware as a professional, struggled to settle.
And when he inadvertently potted a red after knocking the blue into the right middle and later failed to get position on the brown in the final frame, it summed up his afternoon.
“Mark played some great stuff. Early on, whenever he missed, it landed awkward for me and I’d miss and stick him straight up,” Liswoski told BBC Sport.
“Maybe I’d have had a frame with a bit more luck. It wasn’t meant to be. I couldn’t get anything going and he just shut me out.”
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By Steve Sutcliffe
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