Mark Williams admitted to having tears in his eyes after being given a huge reception by the crowd during his World Championship final defeat to Zhao Xintong. The 50-year-old fell short in his bid to become the oldest player to win the tournament at the Crucible despite a defiant fightback in the final session.

Trailing 11-5 overnight, the Welshman was unable to make the early inroads he needed, and was 17-8 down after the afternoon session. However, he came back out rejuvenated in the evening, and staved off Zhao's win by taking the first four frames to reduce the deficit to five. The Chinese star than pounced on a missed pink though to clear up and seal an 18-12 win, becoming the first player from his country ever to become world champion.

As he walked back out at 7pm, Williams received rapturous applause with the Crucible crowd urging him to fightback. He looked emotional as he made his way to his chair, and afterwards was asked about how he felt during the entrance.

"The reception I've had all week... but tonight was something special," he said. "When I was stood on the steps and they were all on their feet - it brought a tear to the eye."

"It's been a brilliant tournament for me. The support I've had for the past two weeks has been unbelievable. I'm still playing quite good stuff, even though my eyesight is a bit blurry."

Williams also paid tribute to his opponent, and tipped the 28-year-old to be an elite force in snooker for years to some. He said: "What a potter Zhao is. I'm glad I'll be too old when he's dominating the game.

"I've got nothing but admiration for what he's done, coming through the qualifiers. He hasn't played for two years, bashed everybody up. Bashed me up. There's a new superstar of the game."

Zhao has also followed in the footsteps of Williams by becoming just the fourth left-handed player to win the world title. Neil Robertson and Judd Trump complete the list, while Zhao is also the first amateur player to be crowned champion.