WILLIAMS MUST FACE THE MUSIC
Mentor Mark feels A Bad Moon Rising as he takes on protege Page
JACKSON PAGE has already struck a blow ahead of his Crucible clash with mentor Mark Williams – by winning the battle of the walk-on music.
The 20-year-old debutant is the big story of this year’s Betfred World Championship so far in Sheffield, having knocked out former finalist Barry Hawkins.
But today the world No.90 must take on three-time world champion Williams, who has steered his career from a young age and who views Page as “a fourth son”.
Williams’ social media this week has been full of the pair playing cards in casinos and dining together at Indian restaurants.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry publicly warned Page to stay away from Williams ahead of their last-16 clash, for which he was branded “an idiot” by
the world No.8. But after the pair both walked out to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s big 1969 hit ‘Bad Moon Rising’ in the first round, Page has laid claim to it, while 47-year-old Williams reverts to the Tom Jones Welsh anthem ‘Delilah’.
Williams said: “I’m going back to Delilah – Jackson said Bad Moon Rising was his song. He is a little s**t, he is. A right little git.
“He took a few quid off me playing cards earlier in the week but I have got most of it back since then.
“It bothers me a lot more losing to him at cards than it does at the snooker table. Anything is worse than that, like losing to him at gambling, cards, poker, badminton – absolutely anything.
“With the cards, me, Jackson and Lee Walker play either Crash or Don, not for much, maybe a fiver a
game. I couldn’t win for a while, he was hammering me.”
Williams said he is ahead of his young protege when it comes to snooker: “I don’t practise that much between tournaments but when I do go into the club he sometimes does beat me. I win mostly, though I have taken a couple of hidings off him. But of course none of that will count for anything on Thursday.”
Page said: “Mark took the song off me when I wasn’t using it much at the start of the season. But we will be friends afterwards whatever the scoreline.”
Jack Lisowski (above) yesterday beat Matthew Stevens 10-8 and will now face favourite Neil Robertson.
Lisowski said: “It was a crazy match and I was twitching at the end. I played with fear because I was trying to guard my lead.”