Mark Williams pulled off one of the greatest safety shots of all time that made commentator say 'surely not?'

Mark Williams is renowned for his safety play on the snooker table but even by his high standards, this effort against Robert Milkins was quite remarkable.

The three-time world champion was up against Milkins at the Champion of Champions tournament in Bolton when the "outrageous" shot on the pink took place.

As you can see from the footage below, Williams was fourteen points behind in the sixth frame with just pink and black on the table, meaning he needed a snooker to stand any chance of winning.

The Welshman walked up to the table and baffled many inside the University of Bolton Stadium when he directed his cue at the pink that was hanging over the pocket.

But in typical fashion, Williams managed to get the cue ball behind the black to snooker Milkins.

"Surely not," cried the commentator as Williams delivered a wry smile to those in the crowd. "That is unbelievable."

Here's how snooker fans on social media reacted to the safety.

One said: "One of the best shot makers in history. Wonderful player to watch," while another commented: "Absolute wizard this man, nobody can pull shots out of the bag like him."

A third wrote: "That is probably the best snooker shot I’ve ever seen."

A fourth added: "This is one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. How!!!?"

Earlier this year, Mark Williams picked up a seven-point penalty in his World Grand Prix match against Hossein Vafaei after referee Olivier Marteel was left unimpressed by his cue ball antics.

The former world number one, who would go on to win the second round match 4-1 with breaks of 108, 76 and 75, decided to have some fun during the fifth frame.

With a smirk on his face, Williams picked up the white ball before hiding it in his pocket as referee Marteel replaced the balls – a moment that brought plenty of laughs from those inside the Morningside Arena.

But moments later, a far from impressed Marteel decided to hand the Welsh player a seven-point penalty.

"You know that's a penalty seven," he could be heard saying in the below clip. "It's a penalty seven points to Hossein. You touched the ball during a consultation period, it's in the rules."