World Snooker Championship: Mark Williams and Graeme Dott fail to qualify

Former champion Mark Williams will miss the World Championship for the first time since 1996 after he lost 10-8 to Alan McManus in the final qualifying round. Williams, now aged 39, won the trophy in 2000 and 2003 and looked set to qualify after taking an 8-7 lead during the evening session. But McManus bagged three frames in a row to reach the main draw. Graeme Dott, another former world champion, also failed to qualify, losing 10-7 to world number 89 Kyren Wilson. Dott has won the World Championship in 2006. This defeat is a major blow for Williams, a winner of 18 ranking tournaments during a highly successful career. The Welsh player has now lost his place in the world rankings top 16. However, Williams and Dott were not the only high profile victims at the Ponds Forge Arena during the qualifying rounds. Matthew Stevens, twice a World Championship runner-up, was defeated 10-8 by Tom Ford, who will reach the final stage of the tournament for the first time since 2010. Graeme Dott will be missing the World Championship final tournament for the first time since 1999. After losing to Kyren Wilson he said: "Kyren played really well and deserved to win. I didn't play that bad. For his first time qualifying, he handled the pressure really well. I'm not overly disappointed just now but I'm sure when the tournament starts on Saturday I'll be devastated that I'm not there." Here are the outright odds for the World Championship at Bet365: Ronnie O'Sullivan - 5/4 Ding Junhui - 7/1 Neil Robertson - 8/1 Judd Trump - 9/1 Mark Selby - 11/1