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The Welshman, 49, won 13-12 in a Crucible classic black ball decider against John Higgins.

While world number six Williams has generally held sway over his fellow 'Class of 92' rival in Sheffield - winning five of their six meetings - it was still a first loss in a decider for Higgins since 1996.

And yet, the Stok Cae Ras seemed set for this from the moment Reynolds and co-chairman Rob McElhenney entered the ground almost five hours before their decider with a London side still harbouring their own promotion ambitions.

Having used 34 players and trusting the likes of full-back Emma Sing to start a Grand Slam decider to avoid risking Ellie Kildunne's minor hamstring injury, Mitchell achieved his goal of building a wider squad.

England had cruised past their competition leading up the Grand Slam decider, scoring 33 tries in four comfortable wins.