JONES WON’T GO TO POT
Jak fights back after nightmare opening
JAK JONES has been criticised over his slow play — but he was blitzed in the opening session of this year’s World Championship final.
The Welsh qualifier, 30, endured the worst start in a Crucible showpiece since Jimmy White against John Parrott in 1991 as he trailed Kyren Wilson 7-0.
But the Jones fairy tale was not about to die without a fight and he battled his way back to 10-6 going into last night’s tense final frame.
Wilson, who lost the 2020 showpiece to Ronnie O’Sullivan, had extended his lead to 9-3 when the players went to the mid-session interval before allowing his opponent back in.
Jones will be desperate to channel his inner Dennis Taylor to make it the perfect ending to his dream tournament. The Northern Irish great clawed his way back from 8-0 down to stun Steve Davis 18-17 in the 1985 black-ball final. Twelfth seed Wilson (inset) was tucked up in bed while Jones was completing his media commitments after a gruelling 12-and-a-half-hour semifinal slog with Stuart Bingham.
Jones had played almost 45 hours of snooker heading into the biggest match of his life and it showed as the shattered potter struggled to settle.
His dreams of becoming the fifth champion from Wales looked further and further away as Jones missed a number of easy balls and imperious Wilson pounced to go 7-0 up.
The Englishman opened the final with a century, 129, for the first time since Stephen Hendry’s 136 in 1993 and he followed that with further 52, 47 and 66 runs to go 4-0 up.
Jones was criticised by BBC pundits Hendry and Davis for not going on the practice table as he was pictured on the phone drinking a can of Red Bull in his dressing room to shake himself into life. Wilson then took a stranglehold on the match with visits of 62, 125 and 90.
Relieved Jones raised his fist in the air after winning the last frame of the session to get on the board with a 65 break and he closed the gap to 7-3 as he began the evening in better form with runs of 75 and 52.
But Wilson rattled in his third century of the day and went 10-4 ahead before losing two on the spin as his opponent showed his character.