Jack Jones vs Kyren Wilson LIVE: World Snooker Championship scores and unexpected Crucible final updates

Road to the Finals: Jack Jones

R1: Jack Jones 10-4 Zhang Anda

R2: Jack Jones 13-9 Shi Jiahui

Quarterfinals: Jack Jones 13-9 Judd Trump

SF: Jack Jones 17-12 Stuart Bingham

Road to the Finals: Kyren Wilson

R1: Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale

R2: Kyren Wilson 13-6 Joe O’Connor

Quarterfinals: Kyren Wilson 13-8 John Higgins

SF: Kyren Wilson 17-11 David Gilbert

Despite winning five ranked games and ranking within the top 20 of snooker’s all-time wins list, Kyren Wilson is still surrounded by questions about his big match mentality, which explains why he This may explain why he can’t win the Triple Crown title. ‘The Warrior’ has reached the last eight of either the Masters, the British Championship or the World Championship 14 times, but has only appeared in the final twice, making him one of snooker’s elite players. Usually it’s a struggle because you’re dealing with.

At the 2020 World Championships, which were postponed due to the coronavirus, Wilson’s brave victory over Judd Trump in the quarterfinals was particularly notable, especially in the semifinals when Wilson defeated Anthony McGill on a fluke green in the best decision frame in history. It was a sign that brighter times were to come. However, he was unable to contain the runaway Rocket as Ronnie O’Sullivan won his sixth world title in overwhelming fashion.

Could 2024 be the year Wilson finally breaks out?

For Kyren Wilson, a first world championship title could allow the man who has long had a shot at a major title to finally fulfill the potential he has shown throughout his career.

The 32-year-old, born in Kettering, first turned professional in 2010 and quickly established himself as one of snooker’s brightest young stars, recovering from a decline in form to regain his World Tour card and winning in 2013. returned to the top tier of the sport. .

Wilson made an immediate impact, building the consistency needed to challenge at the highest level and developing a reputation as a player second to none on his day. By 2015, it had arrived – at the Shanghai Masters, Wilson made it through the qualifiers and dominated Judd Trump in the finals, winning his first ranking title.

Wilson, who started the tournament outside the top 50 in the world, became the biggest outsider to win a ranking tournament in a decade. Reaching the quarterfinals of the 2016 World Championships was also a sign of the player’s growth.

But it hasn’t always been that way since then.

Long matches at the World Championship suit the calm character, nicknamed “Silent Assassin”. A year ago, he reached the last eight on his Crucible debut with wins over Ali Carter and Neil Robertson, but a close 13-10 loss to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals put the Cwmbran-born potter in the spotlight. He became a great player. future.

This strong run did not immediately become a springboard for the 2023/24 season. Out of seven tournaments this season, Jones has only made it past the second round once, at the Welsh Open on his home turf, and the momentum he gained from reaching the last eight appeared to be gone.

But once again, he saved his best snooker for when it mattered most. If the quarter-final match against in-form snooker players looked like it would be the end point for another breakthrough, wins over Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham to reach the final meant Jones was in the big match bottle. It’s proof that we won.

“I don’t really think about it,” Jones said after his last-eight victory. “I’m just playing snooker like I do every day in the club. Obviously it’s a little different outside. I’m just trying not to think about it… I’m just playing snooker.”

The Crucible World Championship has only ever been won by a qualifier twice, with Terry Griffiths’ feat in 1979 being repeated by a young Shaun Murphy in 2005. Jones has been into snooker since a chance encounter at the 1994 World Championships and will apply to join the exclusive group this weekend. Championship semi-finalist Darren Morgan on holiday in Corfu.

Noting his natural talent for pottery, his fellow Welshmen encouraged him to join the club upon his return. Morgan instructed his former pupil to develop further from here.

“I think this is going to be Jack’s year. No one plays better than him, that’s for sure,” Morgan told BBC Radio Wales. “As long as he can hold himself together, I think he’ll be fine.

“He’s a very cool customer, very quiet, very reserved. He got married in the last 12 to 14 months, is doing well in his career, and is a hard worker. The boy practices and practices. That hasn’t changed since I was at the club. You only get out what you put in, and if you keep knocking on that door, it will open someday.”

It took Jack Jones a while to reach snooker’s biggest stage, but the Welshman has made his presence felt since stepping into the Crucible. Jones, 30, tried and failed nine times to qualify for the World Snooker Championship before finally breaking through last year. However, Jones quickly established himself as Sheffield’s specialist.

He started the 2023 edition having reached the quarter-finals of ranking events just twice in a career that began in 2010, but the pinnacle of his accomplishments was the semi-finals of the now-defunct Gibraltar Open. For a player who played a perfect game and seemed to have the ideal temperament, it seemed strange that Jones had yet to make a mark.

Kyren Wilson defeated David Gilbert in a world championship final that was vastly different from the 2020 World Championship final, which he lost badly to Ronnie O’Sullivan, which was played with just a third of the audience seats due to coronavirus restrictions. I was looking forward to it.

Since then, Wilson has endured a tough two years due to family injuries and illness, but has shown no signs of suffering from last year’s 13-2 loss to John Higgins, defeating Dominic Dale, Joe O’Connor and Higgins. I couldn’t. Relatively easy.

“I’ve changed dramatically,” Wilson added. “Back then, if things didn’t go well, panic alarms would have gone off and my play would probably have deteriorated. But I gathered experience and learned some hard lessons.”

In last night’s semi-final, David Gilbert suggested there was a “needle” from opponent Kyren Wilson and blamed bad luck for the loss.

“Kylen played faster, like he thought I was shit,” Gilbert said. “I don’t know if there was a little needle there. I went to wish him luck, but there wasn’t much handshaking there.”

Wilson flatly denied Gilbert’s suggestion, insisting he had “no problem” with his opponent.

No. 12 seed Kyren Wilson won three of the four frames needed in Saturday’s third session for a 17-11 victory, his second since losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2020 final. decided to win the title.

Five consecutive frames did the damage in Friday night’s second session, with Wilson turning a neck-to-neck clash that was in great shape at 9-9 into a four-frame advantage he couldn’t squander.

Gilbert posted a break of 70 in the first frame of the day to close the gap to 14-11, but after getting worse in the next long safety battle his fate was effectively sealed.