Byline: JOHN CURTIS

MARK WILLIAMS became only the third player to achieve snooker's triple crown when he finally killed off the challenge of comeback king Ken Doherty to win the Embassy World Championship crown at The Crucible Theatre.

Williams joined Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry in lifting the UK, Masters and world titles in the same season as he eventually triumphed 18-16 over the never say die Doherty, who had trailed 10-2 at one stage.

Williams, 28, has recognised that linking up with former world champion and now leading coach Terry Griffiths has been a major factor in his revival in 2003 after, by his standards, a modest time last season.

The Welsh star, whose sporting hero is Lennox Lewis, has regained his number one spot in the rankings from Ronnie O'Sullivan and has produced the best snooker during the past fortnight as he added to his 2000 world title.

His manager Ian Doyle insisted: "People can talk about Ronnie O'Sullivan until the cows come home but Mark Williams is the best. He is playing the best snooker in the world.

"John Higgins once made the statement that you had to win the world championship more than once to become a legend of the game - and Mark has become that.''

But Doherty - also managed by Doyle - should take massive credit for another superb recovery after looking out of the contest at the halfway stage.

He had won last frame deciders with Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott and Paul Hunter to reach the final in a mentally gruelling fortnight.

But despite another magnificent effort he never managed to take the lead at any stage of the final before Williams edged home.

Doherty had been attempting to make history as no player has recovered from trailing 11-5 after the first day of the final and gone on to take snooker's biggest prize.

The first frame of the evening session was understandably scrappy with both players guilty of squandering the kind of opportunities they would normally take advantage of.

But it was Williams who nudged ahead again after Doherty had left the penultimate red close to the yellow pocket.

Williams managed to put together a modest but decisive clearance of 23 to the blue before Doherty conceded.

It was a similar scenario in the early stages of the next before Doherty produced a superb break of 92 to the black after Williams had again failed to tuck away a simple red.

Doherty manoeuvred the last three reds off the side cushion to where he could pot them and then took full advantage. …