Judd Trump stunned by qualifier Jak Jones in World Championship quarter-finals
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Jak Jones caused a huge surprise at the Crucible by defeating Judd Trump, who was aiming for his second World Snooker Championship title. Jones qualified for the quarter-finals and shattered Trump's dreams of advancing further in the tournament.
Jones, who is ranked 44th in the world, took advantage of a performance riddled with mistakes by the 2019 winner. This allowed him to turn a 8-8 draw from the previous night into a 13-9 victory and secure a place in the semi-finals for the first time.
Trump did not make any justifications for getting involved in a battle of endurance with his adversary, who is the second slowest participant to have qualified for this year's tournament.
Trump expressed regret about missed opportunities, admitting that there were many opportunities he failed to seize during the day. He acknowledged that he was solely at fault for his lack of success and felt that he had more than sufficient chances to achieve victory.
Many of the frames were sluggish and caused me to become trapped. His speed certainly had an impact on me, though it was not his responsibility. I simply had to go in and tidy up each time, and I failed to do so.
Jones made his debut at the Crucible last year and impressed by reaching the quarter-finals. This year, he is on the brink of making history by becoming the third player to win the title as a qualifier. The only other qualifiers to achieve this feat are Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005. Jones just needs two more wins to make history.
The man from Cwmbran did very well in the first two sessions and took advantage of his opponent's mistakes when they started playing again on Wednesday, so he gained control of the situation.
Trump didn't do well, and this was highlighted when he missed a pink ball in the 20th frame. Jones got the chance and made an amazing score of 61, which gave him a lead of 11-9.
Jones almost secured the victory in the following frame after missing an easier yellow ball. In the 22nd frame, Trump accidentally potted a red ball and Jones seized the opportunity to clear the table with a composed 106 break, ultimately winning the match.
Jones, who had never before made it to a semi-final ranking, defended the speed at which he played and claimed that he noticed at the beginning of the game that Trump - who has won five ranking titles this season alone and is a renowned favourite - was not playing his best.
Jones commented that Judd had a rough time during the match. He started off with a century and played like his usual self, but after the break, Jones noticed that Judd was taking a lot of time with his shots and playing at a slow pace.
From the start, I observed that he wasn't playing as his usual aggressive self. He appeared to be playing at a slower pace than usual, which surprised me. Consequently, I capitalized on this opportunity.
Jones has reached the semifinals and will potentially confront Ronnie O'Sullivan or Stuart Bingham. However, he now has the challenging responsibility of persuading his mother, Debbie, to observe him compete in person for the very first time.
Even though she has been driving her son to games since he became a pro at 16, she hasn't seen him play in person or on TV. Jones doesn't think that this one-of-a-kind Crucible semifinal will convince her to finally watch him play.
Jones stated that his partner doesn't even pay attention to him on TV. When he plays at home, she prefers to keep herself busy by doing laundry or tidying up the house.
My mother doesn't really enjoy watching me play. She tends to ignore it and waits to hear from my father about how I did. However, for a Crucible semi-final, it might be a different story. Maybe she'll decide to come, but she won't actually come into the arena.
During the morning session, John Higgins won the final two frames in an exciting match against Kyren Wilson. This helped him to stay close to his opponent as they prepare to finish their quarter-final match later on Wednesday.
Continuing the 5-3 game from the previous session on Tuesday, Wilson won four consecutive frames to take a strong lead. However, the Scottish player made a comeback and managed to reduce the score to 9-7.