Mark James Williams (born 21 March 1975) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won 27 ranking titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list. He has won three World Championships, two UK Championships, and two Masters for a total of seven Triple Crown titles. He has been ranked world number one on three occasions. Williams turned professional in the 1992–93 season, as did Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins; the three players are collectively known as the "Class of '92". He won the Masters in 1998 and the UK Championship in 1999, and in 2000 became the first left-handed player to win the world title. In 2002–03, the most successful season of his career, he won the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship, becoming the third player, after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, to win all three Triple Crown events in one season. His form then declined, and he dropped out of the elite top 16 after the 2007–08 season, although he regained his place for 2009–10. After winning the 2011 German Masters, he went more than six years without a ranking title, until he won the 2017 Northern Ireland Open. In the same season, one of the best of his career, he also won the 2018 German Masters and a third world title at the 2018 World Championship. Williams has made more than 700 century breaks in professional competition, including three maximum breaks. At the 2025 World Championship, he became the oldest world finalist at the age of 50. Later that year, he won the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix at the age of 50 years and 206 days, breaking Ray Reardon's 43-year-old record as the oldest winner of a ranking event. Williams also became the first player to win professional titles in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. He was appointed MBE in the 2004 Birthday Honours and was inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame in 2012.
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