Jak Jones vs Kyren Wilson LIVE: World Snooker Championship score after dramatic end to first night of final
LIVE – Updated at 22:50
Qualifier Jak Jones will have to battle back from 11-6 down after Kyren Wilson made a dominant start to this World Snooker Championship final and then clinched a dramatic final frame of the opening night.
The first session of the best-of-35 Crucible Theatre showpiece, held over two days, was controlled from start to finish by Wilson, opening with a superb 129 and scoring freely throughout with a nervy Jones unable to find his flow. With some uncharacteristically loose safety play from the Welshman affording him regularly opportunities to build breaks, Wilson showed off his clean cueing to take the first seven frames of the match before Jones at last got on the board in the final frame of the afternoon session to trail 7-1.
Jones fought back in the evening session, however, and reached the last frame of the night only four frames behind. He cleared the final red to leave Wilson needing a snooker, but Wilson managed to find the snooker and pot all of the colours – including a tense final black at the end of a long battle – to steal the frame and earn an 11-6 overnight lead.
Re-live all the action from the World Snooker Championship below, and get the latest predictions and odds here:
World Snooker Championship updates – Jak Jones v Kyren Wilson
- World Snooker Championship final underway at Crucible Theatre
- Jak Jones faces Kyren Wilson for first major title in best-of-35 frame final
- Wilson takes control with dominant display in afternoon session to lead 7-1
- Jones fights back before dramatic final black gives Wilson 11-6 overnight lead
Kyren Wilson 11-6 Jak Jones
22:36 , Lawrence Ostlere
So the players will return tomorrow afternoon with Kyren Wilson leading 11-6. How different it would have been had Jak Jones only been trailing by three frames, rather than five, but he’s still in this match, just.
Jones will need a fast start on Monday if he is to become world champion. Join us then.
Kyren Wilson speaks
22:29 , Lawrence Ostlere
“It’s not only the scoreline, it was needing a snooker, it’s about the way the last frame was won. There was a lot of tension there, some good safety, so I was proud of how I held it together. I had a target of 11 in my head and I achieved it.”
Jak Jones speaks
22:26 , Lawrence Ostlere
“I’m absolutely knackered. If I had a decent night’s sleep last night I could have done something this morning. It’s a miracle I’m still in it. Hopefully I get a good night’s sleep tonight, come out flying tomorrow.”
Kyren Wilson 11-6 Jak Jones
22:23 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones tries to break the deadlock with a bold, bold double across the table into the yellow pocket – it rocks in the jaws and bounces out!
Wilson will surely knock it in for the frame… he does! Wilson punches the air, shakes hands with Jones and marches out of the arena. Jones looks bereft.
What drama.
Kyren Wilson was delighted to win the last frame of the night (Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:19 , Lawrence Ostlere
This safety exchange is so tense, and the audience are utterly immersed in every shot.
Wilson offers a rueful smile as Jones gets a little lucky with a shot which sends the black near the green pocket, but safe. Wilson’s next safety leaves a half-chance for Jones, who takes it on but cuts it too thin.
He leaves Wilson a similar chance, but he hits it too thin as well! We go on. There’s so much riding on this black.
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:15 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson pots the brown, and the blue, but misses the mid-length pink! So Jones comes to the table with only the pink and black on the table, leading by 11 points.
Jones takes on the thinnest cut of the pink into green pocket… but misses! Now Wilson will try the same shot on the pink, and he makes it!
Wilson has a tough black on its spot, with the cue ball near the corner pocket, to win the frame… it rattles in the jaw and stays out! Goodness me.
It runs safe, and so this frame is all on the black.
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
Now then. Wilson puts Jones in a snooker, and this frame is not quite done and dusted. Jones does brilliantly to get out of it and hit the yellow coming off two cushions, but a moment later he’s in another snooker and this time Jones misses the yellow completely trying to play a swerve shot!
Wilson pots the yellow, and the green, and suddenly he could steal the frame!
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:06 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones pots the red, and the tough black that follows!
The yellow rattles in the jaws from distance, so Wilson comes back to the table needing one snooker and all of the colours to win the frame, or else it will be 10-7 overnight.
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:04 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones begins dispatching reds and blacks confidently. He comes to the final red needing to pot it, plus a colour, to leave Wilson needing snookers. It’s a tough pot, down the left rail…
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
22:01 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson puts 34 points on the board before reaching a critical point in the break, needing to pot a red and split the pack. He does so nicely but spins the cue ball against the knuckle of the middle jaw and it bounces up into baulk! That was not in the plan.
He tries to keep the break alive by taking on a tough green but fires it wide of the left middle pocket, and Jones comes back to the table in a great position to respond.
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
21:56 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson heads out of the arena for an extended period of time, perhaps just trying to break Jones’s rhythm.
It works, because when he returns, Jones plays a poor break-off, leaving the cue ball short of the baulk line, and Wilson slams home a red to get the first chance of the frame.
Kyren Wilson 10-6 Jak Jones
21:51 , Lawrence Ostlere
All Kyren Wilson did in this frame was break off. Jak Jones potted a wonderful long red and he’s never looked back, sweeping around the table with confidence en route to a probable century break… but it doesn’t quite happen as he runs out of position in the 90s.
He won’t mind that, though. Jones wins another frame!
Kyren Wilson 10-5 Jak Jones
21:45 , Lawrence Ostlere
So, this is the penultimate frame of the night – can Jones win these last two to give us a real battle tomorrow? He’s first amongst the balls in this one and quickly putting some points on the scoreboard.
Kyren Wilson 10-5 Jak Jones
21:41 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones drops in the red and he’s all but clinched the frame! He plays safe behind the pink and Wilson comes to the table, snookered and needing snookers himself. He manages to hit the yellow but Jones puts it away with his next chance, and what an escape that is after missing such a simple black earlier in the frame.
Kyren Wilson 10-4 Jak Jones
21:38 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson runs out of position! He plays safe, but it’s not quite safe enough and Jones pots a long red, leaving himself perfectly on the yellow. He follows it with red, black, red, black, and just needs this final red down the left rail to win the frame. It’s a tough pot with the rest…
Kyren Wilson 10-4 Jak Jones
21:35 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson misses with only 24 points on the board and Jones comes to the table to engage in a safety battle. He wins it with a huge slice of luck as the cue ball nestles in behind the green, causing Wilson a big headache.
“Help!” he shouts, and the crowd chuckle.
After a couple of minutes thinking, Wilson plays the white across the table three times and hits the black. Now Jones has a huge chance to win the frame… but after putting 29 points on the board, he misses the most straightforward black off the spot! Oh dear.
Jones leads 46-24, but it’s Wilson on the table looking to win the frame.
Kyren Wilson 10-4 Jak Jones
21:25 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson buries the long red to the yellow pocket as Jones looks to the ceiling – the Welshman knows that could well have been the difference between winning and losing this frame.
There’s still a long way to go, but Wilson is in amongst the balls and well set to score heavily again.
Kyren Wilson 10-4 Jak Jones
21:22 , Lawrence Ostlere
The 15th frame begins with Wilson taking on a long red, but he doesn’t get close, hitting it far too thick.
Jones comes to the table with a tricky red on to the left middle pocket… and it bounces off the near jaw! He leaves a long red pot…
Kyren Wilson 10-4 Jak Jones
21:18 , Lawrence Ostlere
A beautifully controlled century break by Kyren Wilson clinches the 14th frame! That was magnificent, plotting his way around the table and then throwing in some exhibition shots after the frame was won for fun.
Kyren Wilson 9-4 Jak Jones
21:10 , Lawrence Ostlere
Unfortunate, or perhaps a bit careless, as Jones cannons one red into another while playing a safety shot, and knocks the latter over the left corner pocket. Wilson pots it and begins building what looks like a significant break…
Kyren Wilson 9-4 Jak Jones
21:05 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson makes a simple error, leaving himself on the wrong side of the blue so that he has to force the cue ball in and out of baulk to get back down to the reds. He makes a good attempt but leaves himself a tough shot with the rest, and Wilson – a great rest player – can’t convert the chance.
The red is left in the jaws of the pocket, and Jak Jones plays a plant to not only pot the red but pot another one at the same time. And with that, Jones wins the frame!
Kyren Wilson 9-3 Jak Jones
20:59 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones wins the safety battle and he’s back in among the balls. He plays a perfect positional shot to pot a red which had been blocking the black and it looks the table is there for the taking… but a few messy shots later he runs out of position and misses a thin black! That could be costly.
Jones leads 57-0, but if Wilson can clear up then the frame is his.
Kyren Wilson 9-3 Jak Jones
20:54 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones is the first to score in the 13th frame and he puts on 28 points before playing safe.
Kyren Wilson 9-3 Jak Jones
20:48 , Lawrence Ostlere
The players are back in the Crucible arena – can Jak Jones recover more ground?
Kyren Wilson 9-3 Jak Jones
20:40 , Lawrence Ostlere
So it’s Wilson feeling best at the mid-session interval after stopping Jones’s run with those last two frames. Jak Jones has done well to get a slight foothold in the match but he really needs to win three of these final four frames tonight to give himself a realistic chance tomorrow.
Kyren Wilson has steadied the ship (Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 9-3 Jak Jones
20:28 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson clears the table with a really well-taken 68 break to steal a frame he never should have had a look at, and that will hurt Jak Jones.
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
20:25 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones makes a costly mistake! He tries to cannon a red out of the way en route to getting position on the pink, but makes a mess of it with too thick a contact, and the break is over. Wilson comes back to the table chasing a 40-point deficit but with plenty of points left on the table.
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
20:18 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wow – a stunning long pot! From up against the baulk cushion, Jak Jones has no option but to take on a horribly hard long red, just off straight. It’s probably a 10% chance but Jones sends the red into the heart of the corner pocket and rolls up to leave the cue ball perfectly on the black. That was the best pot of the final so far, and the crowd howl their approval.
He’s got a good chance now.
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
20:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
Wilson wins the safety battle and he’s in among the balls, but a horribly heavy contact with a red leaves him out of position and chasing the next few balls. His luck runs out when he misses a mid-length red, though he makes sure to send the cue ball back to baulk and out of trouble.
Wilson leads this frame 18-13 as Jones steps up to the table with nothing on.
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
20:07 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jones has started this 12th frame positively, potting a stunning red into the left middle pocket from baulk with power and confidence. However, the break is brief and now he’s got himself in a bit of a pickle trying to escape a snooker set up cleverly by Kyren Wilson.
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
20:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Here’s that brilliant century from Kyren Wilson – including that remarkable last red:
Kyren Wilson 8-3 Jak Jones
19:57 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The last red is dispatched delightfully, Kyren Wilson generating remarkable power and action on the cue ball to screw back for the blue. In go the colours – Wilson puts a pause on the fightback with a delicious 125 to take his first frame of the evening.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 7-3 Jak Jones
19:54 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A beaut of a red keeps Wilson trucking through the seventies having ended up the wrong side of the blue. A third century of the match may well beckon.
Kyren Wilson 7-3 Jak Jones
19:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A cheery chomp of the jaws but a mid-range red falls for the Englishman, doing a bit of dental work on the way through. The following black takes a couple of teeth with it, too – it’s streaky, and Kyren Wilson will still need to split the bunch, but he’s building his lead.
Kyren Wilson 7-3 Jak Jones
19:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jones gets a little over-eager attemping to pounce, skidding a red up past the baulk colours and not particularly close to the pocket.
Wilson bunts a red into the left middle.
Kyren Wilson 7-3 Jak Jones
19:46 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Kyren Wilson won’t be overly fretting yet. He atones for a missed long pot by shepherding one in rather more gently.
But that’s careless. Wilson cues right across a relatively straightforward red and doesn’t even tap the jaws.
Kyren Wilson 7-3 Jak Jones
19:41 , Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s a third on the spin. Some strong cueing allows Jones to screw back just far enough to access the red he needs for frame ball, the pink that follows making totally certain. Another half-century and Jak Jones is back in the mix.
(Action Images via Reuters)
Kyren Wilson 7-2 Jak Jones
19:36 , Harry Latham-Coyle
He’s back in, though. An excellent thin safety from Jones forces Wilson to try the same shot but seeking an even finer snick, one that doesn’t materialise. That sends the cue ball around the angles into a red near the right middle, which plops perfectly into place for Jones to recommence his scoring.
Kyren Wilson 7-2 Jak Jones
19:31 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A missed black off the spot on 28 brings that contribution to the close. Jones was trying to open up the reds, a task made more difficult by the presence of the pink at the bottom of them with its spot tied up.
There’s nothing on for Kyren Wilson as he saunters to the table, though, suggesting that Jones would have been scuppered either way.
Kyren Wilson 7-2 Jak Jones
19:27 , Harry Latham-Coyle
And the confidence is coursing through Jak Jones. A first long pot of the match sticks for him, and the white pulls up short of the baulk line to allow him to navigate back down from the green.
Kyren Wilson 7-2 Jak Jones
19:24 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The first frame of the evening belongs to Jak Jones. A smile on the face and a pep in the step of the Welshman.
(PA Wire)
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:23 , Harry Latham-Coyle
And a couple more red/black combos will keep Wilson in his chair.
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jones leaves himself too straight on a pink, forcing himself to retrieve the rest and keep the one-pointers coming. The next colour will be nasty, too, the Welshman swinging the rest around to try for a relatively thin pink to the left corner.
Brilliantly judged. Jones lands perfectly on the bottom most red and can bring the black back into play.
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:17 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jones cleverly puts himself into position to pot that pink, returning it to its spot. Eek, he’s dicing with danger here, though, the next red trickier than it should have been and the brown that follows not straightforward, either.
But each disappears. Up into the twenties.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Wilson slams into the topside of the pink off the blue, crossing his fingers for a tasty spread. Across the gingham they scatter, though there’s nothing obvious to continue the break.
Yep, a miss into the yellow pocket and Wilson is done at 14. An excellent chance for Jak Jones if he can get in, though he’ll have to utilise the blue with neither pink nor black particularly pleasantly placed.
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:12 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The blue helps Jak Jones out, a red wandering towards the left corner but no route through the colours for Kyren Wilson. Wilson manages to cover that red with the green, leaving a tougher pot for Jones to take on…nope, and a simple starter allows the Englishman to warm to his work.
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
19:09 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Into the cauldron the two finalists step. Jak Jones will break in the ninth frame.
World Snooker Championship final
19:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The Crucible is full to the brim once more, a capacity crowd awaiting the arrival of our two combatants.
Hope for Jak Jones?
18:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones was staring the ignominy of 8-0 in the face before at last getting on the board in the final frame of the afternoon session. But the only man previously to have faced that deficit in a Crucible final went on to win the World Championship, Dennis Taylor overturning Steve Davis’ huge lead in the famous 1985 decider.
Crucially, Taylor won seven of the next nine frames – can Jones produce something similar tonight?
World Snooker Championship prize fund
18:47 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The World Championship is the richest prize in snooker with players sharing a total prize fund of £2,395,000. The winner will receive £500,000, with the runner-up pocketing £200,000 and the losing semi-finalists netting £100,000 each.
An additional £15,000 is available to the player who compiles the highest break (including the qualifying stage), while two maximums made across any of the three triple crown events this season will be rewarded with a £147,000 bonus.
World Snooker Championship final
18:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Long tipped as one of snooker’s brightest talents, victory at the Crucible would be long-awaited confirmation of the potential that Kyren Wilson has shown throughout his career.
Who is Kyren Wilson? The snooker star edging closer to ending major title drought
World Snooker Championship final
18:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Plenty of work to do, then, for Jak Jones tonight. Here’s a little bit more about the Welshman – and the role a holiday in Corfu played in him taking up the sport:
Who is Jak Jones? The Welsh qualifier making history at the World Championship
Dominant Kyren Wilson starts strongly to take control of World Championship final
18:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Kyren Wilson completed one of the most dominant opening sessions in the history of the World Snooker Championship final as he built a 7-1 lead over qualifier Jak Jones at the Crucible.
Jones had to wait until the last frame of the session to get on the scoreboard and avoid becoming the first player since Dennis Taylor in 1985 to lose the first eight frames of the final.
Kyren Wilson dominates opening session to take control of World Championship final
Judd Trump would not ‘get out of bed’ for rival tour after rejecting offer
17:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle
But Judd Trump revealed earlier this week he has rejected offers for a LIV Golf-style breakaway, saying he has “no interest” in the project.
Judd Trump would not ‘get out of bed’ for rival tour after rejecting offer
Ronnie O’Sullivan casts doubt over playing future tournaments in Britain: ‘There’s a tax to be paid’
17:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
And Ronnie O’Sullivan’s comments have only further shown the direction of travel.
Ronnie O’Sullivan casts doubt over playing future tournaments in Britain
A break from tradition? How does snooker’s future look and what’s on the table
17:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Among the storylines that have dominated this year’s World Championship has been the continuing chatter over the sport’s future. Here’s a look at what might be on the table:
A break from tradition? How does snooker’s future look and what’s on the table
World Championship finalist Jak Jones hits out at ‘pathetic’ complaints over style of play
16:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones headed into his first World Snooker Championship final earlier blasting his “pathetic” rivals for putting their own demise down to his attritional style of play.
The 30-year-old became only the ninth qualifier to reach a Crucible final after securing a 17-12 win over Stuart Bingham late on Saturday night.
Jak Jones hits out at ‘pathetic’ complaints over style of play
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
16:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A reminder that they will be back at 7pm BST tonight for eight more frames.
World Snooker Championship schedule, results and order of play from the Crucible
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
16:03 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Pure dominance from Kyren Wilson so far, making Jak Jones pay for his errors with the Welshman seemingly overawed a touch by the occasion. From an opening 129 that showcased his shot-making skill, Wilson has been in total control.
How does Jak Jones use the time between sessions? He elected not to make a trip to the practice area at the mid-session interval, which inufriated Steve Davis in the BBC studio. A quick nap and then some time on the table? He’ll need at least five frames tonight, you’d say, to remain in touch.
Kyren Wilson 7-1 Jak Jones
15:53 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A moment of fun at the end of the frame as Kyren Wilson snookers himself on the black he needs to keep his chances alive, Wilson requesting the blocking red be cleaned and then feigning to play the shot.
But Jak Jones is on the board! Finally a frame falls his way, the two players sharing a friendly handshake as their make their exit.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Interesting – three snookers required but Kyren Wilson still comes to the table. Surely not…
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:49 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A fist pump from Jak Jones as he cuts in frame ball to whoops and hollers. How he needed this frame to give him some semblance of hope ahead of tonight’s session!
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:46 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jones understandably takes his time moving from shot to shot, the worries and woe of the situation he’s in readily apparent on his face as he treads the table. It’s looking good for a first frame of the match, though, into the forties with five reds left on the baize. Still a bit of work to be done.
Eek – too much action on the cue ball and he’s overrun the most pottable of the quintet! Can he salvage it? Yes! A fine recovery.
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:42 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Gasps of disbelief from the spectators as Kyren Wilson errs on his third red. An opportunity for Jak Jones to take something into tonight.
He splits the pack as soon as possible. A friendly enough spread of reds should intrigue him.
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:39 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A Jak Jones miss, a Kyren Wilson double to get up and running again – it’s all grimly familiar.
Kyren Wilson 7-0 Jak Jones
15:36 , Harry Latham-Coyle
This is supreme stuff. Kyren Wilson can’t get into the colours but a break of 90 secures a seventh straight frame to start.
Jak Jones looks shellshocked.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Jak Jones
15:32 , Harry Latham-Coyle
He’s in again, you know. Kyren Wilson breaks up the congregation having left himself a perfect angle on the black.
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Jak Jones
15:29 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A Wilson miss allows Jones to swell his score with a red and a yellow, but he can’t find a diversion into the pack from the colour with no free reds available.
His next safety sends a ball to a cliff edge in the corner. Wilson, blocked by the pink, makes it tumble with a canny use of the side cushion to skirt around and access it.
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Jak Jones
15:24 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A mighty roar from the Crucible crowd as Jak Jones flukes a red, in and out of the left corner but crawling along the cushion into the right. Could that be a moment to lift him? Not on that evidence – a misjudged cannon and break over having tallied just eight.
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Jak Jones
15:19 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A second century of the match is secured with a delightful yellow to the middle. Kyren Wilson cleans up to continue his faultless start with an immaculate 125.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:16 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Frame ball is a red rolled along the bottom cushion.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:14 , Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s ominous stuff from Kyren Wilson by contrast. He’s picked up the pace of the table and is exploring it with glee, judging almost every shot perfectly.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:13 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones looks into the lights, a bead of sweat running down his forehead as Kyren Wilson sets about building a break again having been let in by his opponent. Jones slumps into his seat like a teenager at a family gathering – it’s turning into a bit of a nightmare for the Welshman.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:08 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A very well judged-safety from Jones leaves Kyren Wilson seeking a razor thin cut to stamp the cue ball’s return to a similar postcode, Wilson missing to concede four points and a chance. But Jones’ potting game has deserted him – an inch or more out with his effort. Wilson replies in kind in a scrappy start to the frame.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s now more than half-an-hour of match time since Jak Jones last potted a ball. He turns down a makeable red to play safe.
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jak Jones
15:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A fab five – Kyren Wilson extends his advantage.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones
14:59 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Normal service resumes, Kyren Wilson working up to baulk to dispose of the red up amongst the less valuable colours and back down again to clear those populating the pink.
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones
14:57 , Harry Latham-Coyle
22 and out for our early leader, a mid-range red remaining on the table having not quite connected with a cannon as intended from the black before.
Oh, Jak Jones, you just can’t afford to do that – attempting an overly aggressive shot to try and open up the balls, the Welshman fails to concentrate on the pot. Back he goes with a furrowed brow and an angry scowl.
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones
14:54 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A corker of an opening pot from Kyren Wilson, bisecting the jaws in the left corner from the other side of Sheffield. That’s not a bad follow-up, either, sending the second red scurrying between blue and yellow. It makes safe passage into the pocket.
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones – mid-session interval
14:51 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones is pacing his dressing room, on the phone in animated discussion, seeking counsel as he looks to find his way into the match.
Jones having hung up, the players re-emerge for the resumption.
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones – mid-session interval
14:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle
You imagine that Jak Jones will be using the interval for some time on the practice table. Be it fatigue or big-match nerves, he just hasn’t found any fluency so far, and has been short of his best even in the scrappier frames that have tended to suit him during this Championship.
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Jak Jones
14:33 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A perfect start from Kyren Wilson, taking the first four frames of the match.
Jak Jones hurries out of the arena at the mid-session interval – plenty to mull for the first-time finalist.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 3-0 Jak Jones
14:31 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Kyren Wilson sacrifices ideal position on the black to make certain of a red along the bottom cushion. The black would seal the frame…not there. 59 ahead, 59 remaining.
But it will be 4-0. Jones tries to play safe but sends a red hurtling into the black and, eventually, hovering over the corner. Wilson gives it a pat on the back.
Kyren Wilson 3-0 Jak Jones
14:27 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The cushion beyond the black looks a little springy today, the Crucible table having been re-clothed overnight. A couple of booming bounces prove little impediment for Kyren Wilson, though, his cueing spotless both from hand and rest. 43 and counting.
Kyren Wilson 3-0 Jak Jones
14:24 , Harry Latham-Coyle
But that is simply superb from Wilson. Jak Jones’s safety is a bit thick, leaving Wilson something vaguely pottable to the right corner. As ever with The Warrior, it’s played at pace, a bit of extra oomph as he strikes ensuring that it forces through into the pocket. Another opportunity for the Englishman.
Kyren Wilson 3-0 Jak Jones
14:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones was very nearly 4-0 down against Stuart Bingham, but a missed blue from Bingham allowed him to capitalise and get a foothold in the match. That might help him produce something similar here, Wilson knocking the black in inadvertently.
Kyren Wilson 3-0 Jak Jones
14:14 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Just as in his semi-final, Jak Jones will have to come back from 3-0 down – a clearance to the green is more than enough for Kyren Wilson to continue his fine start.
(PA Wire)
Kyren Wilson 2-0 Jak Jones
14:12 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Just as Wilson looks to be charging towards 3-0, the simplest of blues off the pink spot goes awry. Hmm. There’s no obvious explanation, no kick apparent nor anything to worry him positionally.
Jones really hasn’t found his groove, though. An attempt to split two of the three remaining reds makes the black tougher than it should be, and he overcuts it.
Kyren Wilson 2-0 Jak Jones
14:04 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones just looked a little nervy in that second frame. He makes the first score in the third, aided by a simple starter left for him by a wild Kyren Wilson miss.
Jones elects to bother the bunch early, and gets a touch unlucky, left hampered by the blue as he tries to pot a red that has run up the table. An awkward cue action utilising the spider…missed by a distance. It’s not quite happening for Jones, who settles in his seat having contributed 13.
Kyren Wilson 2-0 Jak Jones
13:56 , Harry Latham-Coyle
And that allows Kyren Wilson to take it at the third attempt.
(Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle
But a missed pink to the middle gives Jones life once more. In go a couple of reds; now, can he dribble in the last of them while avoiding the top jaw of the left middle? He can, you know – delicately done.
Argh! A missed black scuppers his chances of making the most of that lovely little pot.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A relatively tough pot along the bottom cushion caps Jones’ response at 24. He appears, briefly, to have got lucky, red and white ending close together, but it is just about cuttable to the corner. Wilson duly dispatches it.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:49 , Harry Latham-Coyle
An extension and the extended rest are retrieved as Wilson tries to squeeze a red out of a thicket into the corner. Can he access the potting angle? Nope, it’s not there – a lead of 47 after a break of 52. A relief for Jak Jones.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:45 , Harry Latham-Coyle
This is beginning to look worrying for Jones. Kyren Wilson is cueing very, very cleanly, knocking one in along the cushion as he gets going again.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:41 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Jak Jones errs first, leaving Kyren Wilson a long pot to the left corner. Kapow! A thump of an effort from the Englishman, jabbing against each mandible and out again.
Jones pots his first ball of the match, but misses a tough blue into the green pocket as he attempts to build. Back to his seat he traipses.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A cagey, considered opening to frame two, both players accurate in their safety play. Kyren Wilson concedes four point with a miss off three cushions, but get’s his angles right at the second attempt. Jak Jones has a gander at a possible plant, though eventually plays safe.
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:32 , Harry Latham-Coyle
That’s the first time since 1993 that a World Championship final has begun with a century. Stephen Hendry went on to thrash Jimmy White 18-5 then – good news for Kyren Wilson
Kyren Wilson 1-0 Jak Jones
13:27 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Statement made. A magnificent century from Kyren Wilson, opening up the tricky reds brilliantly and rattling in the last of them with the rest. 129 and a total clearance – what a start!
(Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Kyren Wilson 0-0 Jak Jones
13:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Smooth as silk from Kyren Wilson as he cruises up into the 50s with minimal fuss.
Kyren Wilson 0-0 Jak Jones
13:17 , Harry Latham-Coyle
An excellent first pot from Wilson, guiding a long red in as Jones leaves it a little too close to the right corner and fails to hide the cue ball behind the green. There’s plenty to pick off, too – a good chance to build a score of substance, this.
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