Jack Jones baffled by World Snooker Championship opponent’s ‘pathetic excuses’

Jack Jones is tired of hearing “pathetic excuses” from losing opponents, claiming slow play threw his players out of rhythm.

The 30-year-old will play in the World Snooker Championship final and face Kyren Wilson in the most unexpected of Crucible showpieces.

The world No. 44 reached the quarter-finals on his debut last year, but after an unforgettable season on tour, he was not touted as a player who could aim even higher.

However, he reached the finals by defeating Zhang Anda, Xi Jahui, Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham, with all four opponents struggling against him, with each clearly having a hard time. He is an excellent player in the game.

Both Mr Trump and Mr Bingham said they found it difficult to find a rhythm against the Welshman, who is one of the slower players on tour and had proven very difficult for opponents at the Crucible. .

After the 17-12 loss, Bingham said: “He’s second-guessing everything. It’s hard to play, you can’t get into a rhythm against him. He looks from every angle and plays something completely different. It’s hard to get into a rhythm.

“He’s very good with the ball. He uses a lot of negative safety shots. If you leave him with a long ball, he floats it in. He’s just hard to work out. Judd struggles. I did, and I also struggled for three days. It’s just hard.

“He plays the right shots and is pretty aggressive in certain parts, but there were moments where he wouldn’t have had to play any safe shots when I tried to grab the bull by the horns. There were a few times where I had to make changes, but I ended up finishing second.”

Trump also felt there was a lack of fluency in his 13-9 loss to Jones, saying he was “a little slower than I expected.” He couldn’t get into a rhythm. Every time he sat at the table, he felt like he was getting older and he couldn’t go with the flow. It was like starting all over again every time we sat down to the table.

“Many frames were very slow. Something you should know by now to control the speed of the game. I got stuck.

“His pace definitely affected me. But it’s not his fault. I had to go in and put it away every time. I didn’t do that. You pot the ball and put it away. It doesn’t matter how fast your opponent is playing.

Jones feels that his opponent is pacing the match just like he is, and he doesn’t have time to think of excuses for his opponent.

“They’ll probably keep using that excuse forever,” he said after defeating Bingham. “This seems to be the excuse players often use against me. They’re supposed to be the best players in the world, yet they complain that they’ve fallen out of their rhythm. It’s strange to me.

“I don’t care. The players I played…like when I played Judd, I think he started out as a typical Judd with a century in the first frame. Then I gave him He returned and was up 3-1 and noticed his body language had completely changed. He seemed to be taking every shot forever, just like Judd always does. It’s easy to blame what I’m doing, but I accept it because it’s working.

“I used to be slow. I think my natural game is pretty fast. But in my first semifinal, I don’t think a shot of 28 seconds is that slow. It goes without saying that I was in the top 16. I often see other players who are still in their late 20s.

“I don’t know what it is, but that’s what they always have to say.” [they’ve been knocked out of rhythm] After they lost to me. The worst part, which I noticed while playing there, is that it feels like they want to play the game. That’s just an excuse.

“They can’t accept it.” [losing]. It’s really pathetic. Just accept it. ”

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