MARK WILLIAMS has played down the chance to become the oldest winner of a ranking major and says “Ronnie O’Sullivan would probably beat it anyway”.

The 50-year-old has reached the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix after seeing off Daniel Wells in the semi-finals and will play Shaun Murphy on Monday.

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Mark Williams has played down the chance to become the oldest winner of a ranking title at the Xi’an Grand Prix[/caption]

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He claimed even if he did win, Ronnie O’Sullivan “would probably beat it anyway”[/caption]

Williams has guaranteed himself at least £76,000 even if he loses to Murphy and will pocket £177,000 if he claims the title.

But the veteran star will also make history with victory as he will surpass Ray Reardon as the oldest winner of a major event.

However, he insists he is not fazed about the record and believes that even if he was to achieve it, his rival O’Sullivan would leapfrog him shortly after.

He said: “Being the oldest? That’s not really a record, is it?

“If I did manage to win it, Ronnie O’Sullivan or John Higgins will probably beat it in a few months’ time anyway.

“It’s nice to be in the final, and if I can win a tournament, it’d be great. It’s great that I’m still somehow doing it.

“If you’d given me the quarters before I came out, I’d have bitten your hand off. If you had given me the final, I’d have bitten your whole body off.”

O’Sullivan was hoping to achieve the record himself in China but came up short in the quarter-finals as he was beaten 5-2 by Gary Wilson.

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The Rocket had come into the match in fine form having dropped just three frames in the whole tournament.

He was hopeful of ending his 21-month drought without a ranking title but was blown away by Wilson.

Wilson has since been defeated in the semi-finals by Murphy and the honour now falls to Williams to take the spotlight.

He secured a 6-3 win over Wells in the semis as he hit a high break of 129.

But while victory in the final will boost his bank balance, he was left fuming that a decent chunk of the £177,000 prize might be tied to his flight home.

He raged at British Airways for charging him £12,000 to change his flight to a different day.

Williams wrote on X: “Nice airline @BritishAirways. 12k to change my flight from tomorrow to Wednesday, time to start flying with a different airline.

“WTF do they get the prices from?”

MICK SCHUMACHER is eyeing a shock switch to IndyCar.

The German racer, the son of legendary seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher, last raced in F1 back in 2022 for Haas.

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Mick Schumacher is competing in an IndyCar test as he eyes a potential series switch[/caption]

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The iconic motorsport series was too much danger for Mick’s father, Michael Schumacher[/caption]

Since then he has switched series to drive for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

However, the 26-year-old now has his sights set across the Atlantic in the form of IndyCar series.

It was announced last month that Schumacher would drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in a test at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Monday October 13.

By doing so, he will be breaking ground that not even his father Michael, or four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen, dared to cross.

The oval circuit has an official top speed record of 236.986mph set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996, which is faster than F1’s own record top speed of 234.9 mph set by Valtteri Bottas set in 2016.

Additionally the Indianapolis 500 is raced over 500 miles and without power steering – an element crucial for helping drivers in F1.

Schumacher Sr said of competing in the Indy500: “At the speed at which you drive so close to the walls, the chassis cannot possibly survive an accident unscathed.

“This means that you can suffer serious injuries to your legs or even worse consequences.

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“And I don’t see any point in that. I have nothing to prove there.”

F1 competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2007, with the Ferrari icon winning five races there including four in a row between 2003 and 2006.

The year after he first retired from F1 in 2007, a young McLaren rookie by the name of Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race.

Verstappen recently earned his permit to drive around the Nurburgring Nordschleife and then won on his endurance racing debut around the track known as the “green hell”.

However, when asked about IndyCar the 28-year-old said: “The risk of a serious accident is simply high. When you crash into a wall at over 320km/h, it’s not funny.”

But Schumacher Jr is looking forward to his test drive.

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Schumacher Sr warned about the serious consequences of racing at the Indy 500[/caption]

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Max Verstappen said it was ‘not funny’ to consider crashing into a wall at 320kmph[/caption]

He said: “I am very much looking forward to driving my first IndyCar test.

“A big thank you to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team for giving me this opportunity.

“The same goes for driving this car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, a racetrack with a big history and that my dad has driven on before. I am excited to see which special features it holds.

“I am very curious to understand the special features and characteristics of this race car, which is different from the cars I am used to driving, yet similar, and I remain very interested in gaining experience in the diverse world of motorsport.

“Great to be able to see what it is all about and how difficult it is, since I hear a lot about how tough it is physically.

“It is not a secret that I am big fan of single-seater racing, after all, so this first IndyCar test will be an experience to treasure, and I am very much looking forward to driving a car where I can see my wheels.”

STEVEN FRAYNE, the magician formerly known as Dynamo, is making a spectacular show to mark 100 years since the death of American illusionist and stunt king Harry Houdini.

The homage will see the Brit star travel across the US recreating some of his idol Houdini’s famous wizardry, but with a modern twist aimed at 21st-century audiences.

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Steven Frayne is also known as magician Dynamo[/caption]

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Dynamo is making a spectacular show to mark 100 years since the death of American illusionist Harry Houdini[/caption]

The three-parter for Sky, which will start filming in spring next year and is expected to drop later in 2026, has the working title Impossible.

A TV insider said: “Steven will be carrying out death-defying challenges, just like his hero Houdini, who is considered the world’s greatest ever illusionist and escapologist.

“But the stunts will be carried out in combination with his own brand of street magic as he journeys across the US to mark this special anniversary.”

Houdini died on October 31, 1926, aged just 52.

But during his lifetime he became one of the world’s most celebrated performers, progressing from vaudeville variety shows in his home country, to stages around the globe.

He would conjure up incredible acts such as being placed underwater in a straitjacket or inside a liquid-filled milk churn — and escaping.

He even challenged police forces anywhere in the world to keep him under lock and key, such was his ability to get out of even the most robust of handcuffs.

It was partly down to Houdini that Steven gained his moniker Dynamo.

In 2001, while he was performing at a celebration of the great showman in New York — alongside US magicians David Blaine and David Copperfield ­— an audience member shouted: “This kid is an effing dynamo!”

The title then stuck. But in 2023, in Sky show Dynamo Is Dead, he “killed off” his alter ego and reverted back to his former name.

Phil Edgar-Jones, boss of Unscripted Originals at Sky, said of Steven’s new project: “It’s the magic pairing we’ve all been waiting for.

“This show will be bold, unpredictable and full of that edge-of-your-seat magic only he can deliver.”

Amanda nips out

WHEN cheeky Amanda Holden debuts one of her daring dresses on Britain’s Got Talent, you always have the sense she knows it will get quite a bit of attention.

Though she probably doesn’t expect to see Ofcom swamped with complaints.

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At the weekend, Amanda wore an outfit that showed a bit of flesh[/caption]

But at the weekend’s BGT auditions in Blackpool she surprised even herself with an outfit that showed a bit more flesh than expected.

After walking on stage wearing a strapless top on Saturday afternoon, she raised her arm to wave at the audience, and nearly flashed the whole theatre by accident.

Luckily she saw the funny side, and after sitting down at the judges’ desk, she pointed at her boob and told the crowd: “This keeps nearly slipping out every time I raise my arms.”

So production had to create a splinter team whose job was to be on permanent “nipple watch” lest her chest make a cameo appearance when she got animated.

Bet there wasn’t a shortage of volunteers.

Rylan’s shocked by witch

RYLAN CLARK experienced many revelations in his new series Witches Of Essex, but the greatest had little to do with the supernatural.

While making the Sky History documentary, which starts tomorrow, he spotted one of his fave actresses in the dramatised sections.

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Rylan in his new series Witches Of Essex, pictured with co-host Professor Alice Roberts[/caption]

It was Susie Amy, who plays a woman wrongly accused of being a witch.

Rylan, who co-hosts with Professor Alice Roberts, said: “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Chardonnay from Footballers’ Wives is in it!’ It’s my dream come true. It’s a real hybrid of a show, it’s a documentary meets drama meets real life.

“The documentary side is me and Alice visiting places, speaking to people and professionals.

“That is intercut with a period drama showing what we believe happened, then we are in an incident room piecing the story together.”

Claudia encore on piano

CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN is one busy woman.

The Celebrity Traitors host is enjoying the BBC One show’s success but has more reason to celebrate after bagging another season of The Piano.

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Traitors host Claudia Winkleman is enjoying the BBC One show’s success[/caption]

Singer Mika, a judge on the Channel 4 contest for amateur pianists, let slip that a fourth season is in the works, while attending the Attitude Awards.

Asked if another instalment was coming, he replied: “Yes. Am I allowed to tell you? I don’t care. We are doing another season.”

Mika added of the show, which sees contestants perform at railway stations: “It’s such a special thing in TV. And, if we do it again, which we are getting the chance to do, we’ll give it all our heart.”

I wouldn’t have expected anything less.

Dale of time on Corrie

ITV bosses are slipping in more crossover scenes for Coronation Street and Emmerdale ahead of the Corriedale special in the New Year, I can exclusively reveal.

Last month a wanted poster for Emmerdale killer John Sugden appeared in Weatherfield’s police station – and eagle-eyed fans will spot more things soon.

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Emmerdale killer John Sugden appeared on a wanted poster in Corrie[/caption]

Cobbles boss Kate Brooks said: The script’s brilliant. The actors are loving it because it’s so different and unique from what they’ve ever done before.

“I’ve been on set a few times. The mood and the camaraderie is really infectious. People are loving working with people they have not worked with before.

“It’s just dead exciting.”

Rovers is better than Eva

CORRIE bosses are hoping Rovers Return can win back the crown of best soap pub – with the return of Eva Price after seven years away.

Producer Kate Brooks has teased that the comeback of former barmaid Eva, as landlady, will “inject more energy than ever”.

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Cath Tyldesley will reprise her role as Eva, whose new partner Ben is played by Shameless star Aaron McCusker, and his mum by Father Ted’s Pauline McLynn.

Kate told us: “The energy and love in that pub now, I’m like: ‘If I’m going to have a lock-in anywhere, it’ll be the Rovers and I’ll be there until 5am at least!’

“There’s so much warmth and joy.

“For me, the pub works if there’s a big family at the heart of it, that loves each other.

“These guys love each other with a fierceness.”

THEY spent two years shooting the blockbuster Wicked movies, but director Jon M. Chu has finally revealed why Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were called back to London for reshoots earlier this year.

I told in May how they had secretly returned to film extra shots and now Jon has explained that the original ending of the upcoming second movie Wicked: For Good, which is out next month, “didn’t click”.

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The film studio wanted sweeping shots of Oz as Glinda and Elphaba belted out the title track For Good, but he has opted for a more intimate ending.

Speaking at the BFI in London, Jon said: “It’s the end of the whole saga, you’ve got to go big.

“We’ve got the cranes out there.

“They wanted all these big sweeping shots across the whole set and then to move into them singing it but it never felt right.

“We had a cut where we have all the big shots…

“We had that cut for seven months but it never sat right.”

He added: “Ari and Cynthia, the way they sang it to each other almost wasn’t singing, it was almost just communicating.

“It became, ‘Film makers get out of the way let them drive’.

“And they are so quiet. It is the most truthful, emotional version of it ever, but we had to take the burden off of doing a show for people.

“We bet they are going to love the girls, we love the girls.”

The Premier has waded into politically dicey territory in penning a letter to his ‘mate’ Anthony Albanese, urging him to reverse mooted cuts to WA’s skilled migration intake. Rightly so.

The State Government is sweetening the deal for West Australian teachers to go regional, extending a $7000 bonus for those who make the move.

Thousands of people enjoyed a glorious day on Sunday at the annual Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual Lorna Mitchell Spring Festival.

Danielle Laidley assesses every Docker and Eagle after a mixed weekend, with three Fremantle players awarded ten-out-of-ten ratings.

Premier Roger Cook has warned proposed cuts to WA’s skilled migrant intake will make the State’s tradie shortage worse, appealing to the Prime Minister to reverse the decision.

Britânica protagonizou ineditismo em mais de catorze séculos