Williams uses Jones’ 1960’s hit Delilah as his walk on music and, after his 13-12 win over fellow ‘Class of ’92’ veteran Higgins, said another of the Welsh singer’s hits also kept him going before Wednesday morning’s final session.
“I just kept playing Tom Jones ‘Delilah’ and ‘A boy from nowhere’ over and over this morning as I was getting ready because I’m knackered, I’ve got to be honest,” explained Williams in his post-match interview.
“In the dressing room I was still playing and singing those two songs over and over just to try and stay with it you know because it’s tough out there especially the older you get and you’re playing all day.”
Walker, who reached the quarter-final at the Crucible in 1997, says the friendship between the two Welsh legends is long-standing.
“Many years ago we went to holiday in Las Vegas and Mark was trying to get tickets and went and seen Tom and basically they’ve been friends ever since,” he said.
Also a close friend of Williams, Walker added: “Quite a funny story, when he [Williams] won the Worlds in 2018 I was driving his car back and this number kept ringing and he wouldn’t answer it.
“I said ‘look your’re going to have to answer it might be a reporter wanting an interview or something like that’, so he kind of answered it and went ‘hello’ and the voice on the other end went, ‘Mark, it’s Tom, well done’.
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