Mark Williams drowned his sorrows after his World Snooker Championship defeat against Zhao Xintong by ordering 15 shots and double parking Guinness. The 50-year-old was denied a fourth World Championship triumph after being dispatched 18-12 by his Chinese opponent.

Williams enjoyed a sensational run at the Crucible and reached the final after getting the better of tournament favourite Judd Trump in the semi-finals. But the title decider proved to be a step too far as he was outclassed by Zhao, despite rallying in the final session of the match. Williams banked £200,000 for his endeavours in Sheffield and was in the party spirit on Monday evening as he celebrated his surprising run.

Williams took to X (formerly Twitter) in the aftermath of the final to post a series of images.

The first image showed him sipping two pints of Guinness at the same time as he relaxed following an intense 17-day tournament at the Crucible.

His spelling and grammar was all over the place by the time he posted to the social media platform, with the caption reading: “Thanks for all thensupport heblast 17 days, tome forncouoke guinessesss now. #seeyouallnexraeason.”

Williams posted a second image, where he pretended to punch Zhao in the face as the 28-year-old hung onto his World Championship trophy.

And the Welshman added a final picture, which focused on a tray of 15 shots of alcohol as he penned: “Last one, I’m off to bed.”

All three posts received plenty of interaction, with many followers expressing their support for the potter after his impressive run in Sheffield.

Williams, who won the World Championship in 2000, 2003 and 2018, is the oldest player ever to reach the showpiece match at the prestigious tournament.

And following his defeat, he lavished praise on the new champion as he explained: “Zhao winning it could be huge for the sport. It could end up opening floodgates everywhere.

“I’ve got nothing but admiration for him, to do what he’s done. He’s been out for two years, bashed everyone up in qualifying and come here and bashed everyone up in the main tournament. It’s an unbelievable achievement.

“There’s not enough good words to say about him. Everyone has got to get behind him and just watch him.

“He could dominate or at least give [Judd] Trump and Kyren [Wilson] a go. Snooker needed someone like him to come through, like what happened with Luke Littler in darts. His style is so effortless and his cue power.”