An emotional Wilson offers apology to Jak after clinching title
KYREN Wilson secured the World Snooker Championship title and then apologised to Welshman Jak Jones following an intense showdown.
An emotional Wilson eventually won 18-14 after Jones valiantly fought his way back into contention after being 7-0 down.
Jones made a determined effort to conjure an unlikely comeback, winning three consecutive frames while Wilson was poised one away from victory.
However, an exceptional 18th frame win allowed Wilson to seal his inaugural championship, and the emotion almost overwhelmed him as he was still at the table.
After sinking the decisive ball of the match that meant Jones would need snookers to win, Wilson enthusiastically shouted “Come on!” towards his loved ones in the audience.
Later, he expressed regret for his emotional show of relief, apologising to Jones during their post-match interviews.
Taking to BBC presenter Hazel Irvine, Wilson said, “I’d like to say sorry to Jak for that outburst but it does just mean so much to all of us,” at the first given opportunity to express his remorse.
He then warmly welcomed his family to join him in celebration of the epic climax of 17-days’ worth of riveting snooker action, crowning a fresh world champion.
Jones was vying to be the first qualifier to clinch the World Championship since Shaun Murphy’s victory in 2005.
However, Wilson maintained a consistent lead throughout the contest, securing his place in the final after defeating Dominic Dale, Joe O’Connor, John Higgins and David Gilbert.
Jones insisted he never lost hope of fashioning what would have been the greatest comeback on the final day of the tournament.
“I think if I’d won one more, at 17-15 he could have really started twitching, and I had couple of little chances, but he held himself together well in the end,” said Jones.
“I just gave myself too much to do in the first session, but Kyren came out flying in the first session so he deserves it.
“I’m proud because I don’t feel like I’ve played well here at all. I’ve played my B game and my C game to beat some of the best players in the world and get to the final, so to come so close to winning it should give me a lot of confidence going forward.
“About a month ago I was twitching in my first qualifying match. It’s been a long month but I’m happy with it.”
He candidly admitted he hadn’t carried “a lot of hope” going into the final but that he hoped his showing would help him “move forward in a good way.”
Wilson praised Jones on his first final and said he had “conducted himself in an amazing fashion and I’m sure he will be back.”
He added that the crowd had been well behind the Welshman, joking: “I don’t know if there is any people left in Wales, the amount they were cheering for him! They made it a fantastic atmosphere.”
Despite the loss, it has been a successful tournament for Jones, who by qualifying for the semi-finals had already secured the largest single amount of prize money of his career. He leaves as runner-up with a £200,000 sum from the prize pot, while Wilson netted a cool £500,000 as champion.