IT IS 15 years since Mark Williams last won the Betfred World Snooker Championship, but the Welshman insists he has a major chance of breaking that streak after reaching the second round, writes Charlie Bennett (Sportsbeat).

The 43-year-old will need to win four more matches if he is to claim a third world crown but he looked in great shape against Jimmy Robertson, where he eased to a 10-5 victory.

Since he last ruled the Crucible Theatre, Williams has won just five ranking event titles but two of those have come this season – fuelling the belief that he could add to his successes in 2000 and 2003.

And the Cwm potter looked in total control against Robertson, where he turned a 7-2 overnight advantage into a routine win to book a second-round match with either Neil Robertson or Robert Milkins.

“I am coming here playing the best stuff I have played in many years, whether I can win it who knows,” he said.

“I definitely have as good a chance as anyone in the tournament.

“I think I played quite well, the damage was done in the first session really. It might be first to ten but the first frame was massive really, I cleared up and won it on the black.

“He came under some pressure because he should have won the first two and that put him under some pressure.

“I hit two or three centuries in that match but I had luck too.”

There is no denying fortune was on his side, with Williams producing perhaps the biggest fluke in Crucible history on Tuesday.

Snookered behind the blue and stuck on the left cushion, Williams’ seemed to be in an impossible position but he managed to fire the white off the top cushion and knock in the green – all while looking the other way.

“It was the biggest fluke you will ever see in your life, there was nothing good about that, it was a complete fluke,” he said.

“I was not even looking at it, I just wanted to get out of the position I was in. When I saw it go in I could not believe it. It was the biggest fluke I have ever seen.

“I thought I can either hit it first time or I could have been there for eight or nine shots – that’s why I did not look at it.

“I just hit it and hoped for the best. I was smack in line with it and I turned to apologise but he was absolutely fuming.

“There is no point looking at the white when it is that difficult – I just look at the object ball. I do it all the time.”

Watch the snooker World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.