Snooker star Mark Williams shares his thoughts on the ongoing debate about whether Judd Trump should be considered one of the greatest players of all time.

On Thursday night, snooker fans will be treated to another thrilling match-up between two of the sport's top players, Judd Trump and Mark Williams. As the debate for the greatest of all time rages on, Williams has weighed in with his personal rankings and where he believes Trump stands among the best in history. Their upcoming quarter-final clash in the Players Championship is just the latest in a series of epic battles between the two, including Trump's nail-biting 10-9 victory over Williams in the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters. Their two World Championship semi-finals, with one win for Trump in 2022 and another for Williams in 2025, also come to mind. With three world titles under his belt compared to Trump's one, Williams believes that the latter just needs to add another Crucible triumph to his name to solidify his place among the top three or four players of all time. "He's got to be in the top four or five easily," Williams said of Trump's standing on the all-time list. "I think if anything's missing, it's another World Championship. I've always put Ronnie O'Sullivan, [John] Higgins and [Stephen] Hendry there. I think if he wins one more World, I'd put him in front of Hendry, you know, with Ronnie and Higgins just behind." Williams, who humbly left himself off the GOAT list, believes that Trump's toughest competition sets him apart from six-time world champion Steve Davis. "I can't rank him [Davis] in the top four or five. Just because of the people now, they're doing it in the era where it's the toughest by far," he explained. "Steve Davis, brilliant player. Nothing but respect for him. But him at his peak, playing now with all these boys, he's nowhere near winning six World Championships. He'd still win a couple, but it's hard in this era to win six." At 50 years old, Williams relishes his battles with the 14-years-younger Trump, grateful that he can still compete with and defeat the current world number one. "I think every time you play Judd, you know you have to play well," he said. "And sometimes I've played really well against him and lost. Just to be playing Judd in the quarter-final of these big tournaments is a privilege for me. I didn't think I'd still be doing it at 51 next month. If he beats me, gives me a good hiding, it's not the end of the world. It's just nice to still be there, you know, fighting him with these youngsters. Keep on trucking!" Their most recent meeting in Riyadh was far from a classic, with Trump easily dispatching of Williams 4-0 as the latter struggled. However, Trump is not expecting such an easy ride in their upcoming match in Telford. "The last time I played him was the worst I've ever seen him play!" Trump exclaimed. "Normally he's very, very solid. He doesn't miss much, doesn't do a lot wrong. He has very strange shot selection. You're very on edge when you're playing him. I think he has a very different game to Ronnie and John. You kind of know they've got that standard or you know what they're going to do. With Mark it's a little bit different. You don't know what you're going to get as much with him. That's what puts you on edge a little bit. If he was practising eight hours a day, I'd know I'd have to go in and be on it from the start. Sometimes that's a lot easier for me to deal with. I just try and go in with that mindset. He's still an amazing player on his day." Williams looks back on their previous encounter in Riyadh and admits that the playing conditions were such that he had no chance of winning. "I can't say too much to get a fine, but yeah, it was tough conditions. I think I'm all right to say that," he stated. "Very tricky when the cue ball's coming off twice and three times the speed of going on the cushion and it's playing a little bit heavy. That's my worst nightmare. I almost know I can't win. As soon as I go up there and the conditions are like, I can't win. Sometimes it's easier to shake his hand and say, yeah, well done, and just not even play! But that's just the way my game is. Judd, he can handle tough conditions better because he's got more power and that's what you need. I haven't really got that much cue power like the big boys." But make no mistake, Williams is still one of the big boys in snooker and he will be ready to take on Trump in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship at 7pm on Thursday night.