Mark Williams defies eyesight problems to brilliantly beat Wu Yize at the Crucible

Mark Williams is into the last 16 in Sheffield (Picture: Getty Images)

Mark Williams may be struggling with his eyesight but is still producing excellent snooker as he showed in a 10-8 win over Wu Yize at the World Snooker Championship.

The three-time world champion turned 50 in March and has admitted that he is struggling with blurred vision at the table.

The Welshman has tried out contact lenses and is considering surgery, but is currently battling through the issue and still performing to a tremendous standard.

21-year-old Wu continues his wait for a first victory at the Crucible but again showed his great potential, with breaks of 136 and 120 in defeat.

‘It was just a tough game all the way through,’ Williams told the BBC. ‘Some of the balls he can pot are just incredible. He’s got the potential to win this tournament absolutely no question. His long-potting was unbelievable.

‘I can’t really outscore him or out pot him but I can still try and outwit him, I suppose.’

It was a cracking scrap between the veteran and the youngster, with Williams taking an early lead before Wu hit his stride in style.

Williams has been struggling with his eyesight of late (Picture: Getty Images)

The Welshman claimed the first three frames, despite Wu have chances in all three, but then the Chinese star found form, knocking in breaks of 120, 90, 72 and 136 to take the lead.

That was the last dramatic swing of dominance as the rest of the match was tit for tat until its conclusion late on Sunday afternoon.

Neither could shake the other off until Williams finally managed it and scrambled over the winning line.

Wu (Picture: Getty Images)

Wu was 8-7 ahead and made a break of 61 in the 16th frame, only for Williams to brilliantly pinch it to level up.

The 50-year-old then showed his experience, bottle and quality to win the next two and pick up a fantastically hard fought 10-8 win.

More to follow…