Mark Williams and John Higgins were the veteran finalists at the end of a thrilling Betfred World Championship.It was a tournament packed with drama, starting with a stunning opening-day defeat for the defending champion.There was another Ronnie O’Sullivan controversy and the revelation of a showpiece match between two of the greats of the game. Williams did not even qualify for the tournament last year, making his run one of the great snooker renaissances.Here Press Association Sport picks out the highlights of 17 days in the Crucible cauldron.

Best shot

This one was sheer effrontery to every struggling club cueman, with Williams not only escaping from a difficult snooker, not only knocking in the green in ridiculous fashion, but doing it with his head turned away from the white ball.

Best quote

The competition here was fierce, but one quip stood out above the rest.

“That’s for being Mr Angry,” Ronnie O’Sullivan snapped at Ali Carter after appearing to aim a slight shoulder barge at his opponent by the side of the table during their intense second-round match. Mr Angry won the day though, and O’Sullivan was on his way home.


Biggest upset

It came on day one, as defending champion Mark Selby lost what was becoming an aura of invincibility as he slid to a 10-4 defeat against 43-year-old Joe Perry.

After lifting the trophy in three of the previous years, and being described as “granite” by Higgins, Selby’s performance was strangely subdued and he spent the rest of the tournament working as a television pundit alongside O’Sullivan.

Talking point

A showpiece clash of the veterans fed those with an appetite for nostalgia but it was worth asking what happened to the younger generation.

Judd Trump was turned over by Higgins in a quarter-final thriller and has still not been back to the World Championship final since his crowd-pleasing 2011 run.

Ding Junhui meekly surrendered to Barry Hawkins despite looking champion class in his previous match. It was a different story for Kyren Wilson, who pushed Higgins hard for most of their semi-final and looks to be taking steps forward every year.

Top stat

Hawkins may not have reached the final but he was a whisker away and confirmed his status as the event’s Mr Consistency. Despite his relatively low profile, Hawkins has won more matches at the World Championship than any other player over the last six seasons.

His run to the semi-finals took him to 18 victories over that time, nudging him one ahead of Selby despite the Leicester man’s title treble in the same period.