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Mark Williams has branded the suggestion that seeded snooker players are looked after as "bullcrap". The three-time world champion is one of just two top-16 players to advance past the Northern Ireland Open second round, with Kyren Wilson the other. Defending champion Jack Lisowski went out at that stage after losing 4-1 to Anthony McGill, the same round that Williams' fellow Welshman Jak Jones eliminated John Higgins. However, those two at least won their opening matches, unlike the rest of their seeded contemporaries at this season's seventh ranking event, with Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan on the wrong end of seven-frame thrillers.
After winning his second-round match, Williams was asked why he thinks his fellow top 16 players have struggled, saying: "Well, it's quite simple, because you've got a block of qualifiers, seeded the top 16 through to the venue, which is good, but the top 16 can't get easy draws any more.
"Every time you play someone, it's someone who's won a few matches and a really good player, whereas, as you're qualifying for the venue, there are some good draws out there, but the top 16 can never get a good draw in this system.
"They all go on about, you know, 'they're seeded, they're looked after' – what a load of bullcrap. D'you know what I mean? The top 16 didn't get put there; they earned their way there through Blackpool and all this and everything, and now all of a sudden, flat draws are coming back in, but (exhales) who cares what draw it is?"
Asked whether the top players will get to the top whatever draw system is used, Williams responded: "Always. When it was a flat draw, it was always the top ones winning, Trump, (Mark) Selby, (Neil) Robertson, no-one else, y'know.
"It's good and bad, like the good part of it is the players are playing amongst their own rankings and lower rankings, and by the time they do come to the top 16, they've got their points, they're not under so much pressure, and that's why they, the top 16, a lot of them, they get beat now because of that.
"If you put them in round one at the 128, the people who are on £30 or £40-grand before the top 16 come in, I can guarantee you wouldn't be on 30 or £40-grand."
Williams whitewashed Martin O'Donnell, who beat Trump in the opening round, on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals, where he is playing David Gilbert on Friday. A semi-final against either Jones or Scott Donaldson awaits the winner, with Anthony McGill vs Wilson and Elliot Slessor against Sam Cragie on the other side of the draw.
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