By Dan Warren BBC Sport at The Crucible

Peter Ebdon, the master of the mind games, is on his way back to Northamptonshire having failed in his attempt to retain his crown.

Williams takes a closer look

But maybe there is a new genius of gamesmanship on the block.

Mark Williams was stood behind Stephen Lee as the Trowbridge man took to the table early on in their semi-final - rather than in the familiar seated position of the non-player.

The tactic appeared to work a treat as Williams stormed to a 7-1 lead.

But was it some attempt at intimidation? Or perhaps some new technique to keep the blood flowing? Or perhaps he just wanted a new view of the table?

In fact, none of the three.

The Welshman was, simply, unable to see a thing when he sat down because of the angle at which the Crucible's powerful lights were set.

Perhaps he could borrow a visor from poker-playing buddy Steve Davis to counteract the problem?

Thursday at the Crucible is something of a quiet day in comparison to the mayhem of the Wednesday when all four quarter-finals finish.

Perhaps that is why the sponsors choose Thursday to host their media lunch, so that anyone who takes advantage of too much free wine can sleep it off later without missing much action.

Yet all hacks have a nose for a scoop just as well-tuned as their nose for a quality freebie.

When Ken Doherty's shot was deflected by the uneven table the word 'controversy' was mentioned.

And the slumbering assortment of journalists came to as though 100 volts had been passed through their body.

Impressive.

Snooker statisticians love the game as much for the number-crunching as for the spectacle it provides.

And Mark Williams' run has had the Star Trek-loving maths types checking and re-checking their record books on a regular basis.

Not content with a best-ever 13-frame winning run in the second round, and also becoming the second player to ever regain the number one spot, Williams was at it again on Thursday.

His 7-1 lead after the first session against Stephen Lee equalled the best start to a semi in Crucible history.

And he now has the biggest-ever semi-final winning margin - 11 frames, achieved three times in the 1980s - in his sights.