Mark Williams hinted he may have to cancel pre-planned eye surgery after progressing into the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship. The Welshman edged a classic at the Crucible on Wednesday afternoon, progressing beyond John Higgins by virtue of a last-frame decider.

The three-time world champion revealed ahead of the World Championship that his eyes had been deteriorating and he was going to go under the knife to correct the problem. But considering his Crucible campaign has gone so well, Williams is now having second thoughts about the procedure.

During Williams' post-match debrief with BBC Sport, Ken Doherty, who was on punditry duty, joked the quarter-final victor wasn't: "Playing bad for a blind man." A reference to the glasses Williams was sporting in the interview.

Picking up on the cheeky dig, the 50-year-old replied: "I've got a big decision to make now, do I cancel my op? I don't know."

When pushed on how his eye problem has impacted performances, Williams added: "I haven't played with glasses yet, that was my next step. I tried contacts, struggled with them. Looks like I'm still doing alright, half blind."

Williams will now be hoping his dodgy eyesight can help inspire him to a first World Championship crown since 2018, with either Luca Brecel or Judd Trump up next for the Welsh Potting Machine. He certainly rode his luck at times during the win over Higgins, but Williams also showed why he was a three-time champion with a stunning effort to pot the blue and set up a simple pink in the dying embers of Wednesday's epic.

When quizzed about his thoughts and feelings prior to taking the shot on, Williams was adamant that he didn't feel any nerves in the moment. He stated: "It was such a tough shot, I could've gone in-off, I could've overcut it. I just went for it, full-board and was straight on the pink and black and I thought I had to go for it. There was not one bit of nerves. I don't really get it. I've only had nerves a handful of times in my career. When I watch Jackson [Page] and he's at 4-4 my hand is shaking and I'm sweating."

Williams concluded: "I wasn't thinking he [Higgins] would miss it. From 12-8 to 12 all I had not done much wrong and I'm thinking 'what can I do?' I was drained this morning. Two tough sessions, I didn't finish until half 10. It's top out there, especially the older you get. You play all day, the next day you play in the morning.

"It's just a pleasure playing now. We got the standing ovation walking in and everyone was cheering. You have to enjoy it because you don't know how many times I'll be coming back here."