First-day score: John Higgins (Sco) 7-10 Mark Williams (Wal)
Williams wins last three frames at the Crucible
Final best of 35 frames - 18 to play on Monday
Higgins seeking fifth world title and Williams his third
Frame 2: John Higgins 0-1 Mark Williams (first to 18)
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre
Steve Davis has just mentioned it on BBC TV, but the large banks of empty seats inside the Crucible Theatre are very disappointing to see for a world final.
That is just one section, there are plenty of other rows that have not been filled up.
Frame 2: John Higgins v Mark Williams
Williams, with the lead, has the first chance in the second frame. Forget your healthy eating and your nutritional experts. An early-morning kebab and chips is the way to go. 0-27
Frame 1: John Higgins 0-1 Mark Williams (first to 18)
Alan McManus
Former Masters champion on BBC Two
It's a beautiful trophy. There's something about finals with the trophy waiting at the end of the table. I bet it could tell some stories.
Frame 1: John Higgins 0-1 Mark Williams (first to 18)
Alan McManus
Former Masters champion on BBC Two
The first frame was the ideal start for Mark Williams who will be encouraged by the way he ended it with two long reds. His first pot was also a cracking one and he has got his eye in early.
Frame 1: John Higgins 0-1 Mark Williams
Suleman Mirza: Once again just so nice seeing these final ... real history, real characters, real legends, real snooker ... real entertainment #BBCSnooker , external#WorldChampionshipSnooker , external#goodoldays, external
Gaz 72: I SHOULD be sunbathing. However, 2 legends are knocking balls around a table.
Don't worry Gaz, it will be nice tomorrow morning. Get your sunbathing done then and then come back and join us for the drama.
Frame 1: John Higgins 0-1 Mark Williams (23-75, Williams 37)
But Mark Williams bangs in a long red shortly after and that is the opener for him. Williams, powered by kebab and chips, is leading the final.
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre
Last night was a late one for us here with play finishing at 23:50 BST.
We had to wait around 40 minutes for Mark Williams to appear as he went through his media commitments to the broadcasters.
Feeling a little peckish afters, the Welshman wrote on Twitter: "2:15am and I’m eating at a kebab shop. Donner meat and chips never tasted so nice."
Image source, Getty ImagesFrame 1: John Higgins v Mark Williams
The frame was in Williams' hand there. He tries to roll a red along the top cushion but it stays out. Two reds remaining, Higgins 39 behind but there is 43 out there. 23-62
Frame 1: John Higgins v Mark Williams
Referee Brendan Moore, for the third time already in this final, is asking the fans in the Crucible to turn their mobile phones off.
Frame 1: John Higgins v Mark Williams
Mark Williams made 37, John Higgins has responded with 23 but a missed black could prove costly. Williams comes to the table with a shot at a red. 23-37
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at The Crucible Theatre
A great reception for both players. Mark Williams just took a few seconds at the top of the steps before entering the arena, taking in the ovation. He hasn't felt it for 18 years.
Last year's runner-up John Higgins had a huge grin on his face as he made his way to his seat.
Lots of respect between these two players, shown by the warm handshake they shared before the start.
Image source, BBC Sport#bbcsnooker
As always you have a massive role to play in all of this.
Send us your thoughts, jokes, observations and snooker-related pictures and we will post them in this page over the next two days.
Get involved via the hashtag #bbcsnooker
Frame 1: John Higgins v Mark Williams
Williams has the first chance in the opening frame and gets up to 37, before he loses position when potting the blue. That leaves him a tricky cut on a red, which he misses. Break over. 0-37
BBC Sport snooker pundit Alan McManus: "Whoever wins, it will be a momentous occasion for the sport. If I had to choose, I would shade John Higgins.
"He said after his semi-final that he found something and when he does that, he sticks with it for a long time and his standard remains high. You cannot discount Mark, he has been round the block so many times, know the drills, knows how to beat John.
"We think back to 15 days ago, people were saying Mark Selby v Ronnie O'Sullivan would be an awesome final, but you would hard pushed to get a better final than this. The class of 92 are alive and well."
This is what they are playing for.
BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to see the tweet.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre
He went out in the second round but five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is still here on media duties.
Image source, Shamoon Hafez
Steve Davis
Six-time UK champion on BBC Two
These two players have the best resolve and mental capabilities the game's ever seen. Most players, if not all of them, would love their resolve around the table.
Frame 1
And we are under way. Mark Williams sinks the first pot of the final, a long red and is nicely on a black.
BBC Sport snooker pundit Alan McManus: "At 85, it is the oldest combined age for a final at the Crucible Theatre in history. We do not really think of them as old men because of the way they play and the nature of their games.
"They attack at the right times and it is going to be a blockbuster. When the big names dropped out, most people will have been hoping for this final.
"I am genuinely so pleased for Mark Williams, he is such a good player and I am a great admirer of talent in this game. I saw his wife Joanne at the interval last night and she was as nervous as a kitten. She did not know where to go, what to do, what to think."
Image source, .
Image source, .