Key events
Wilson 11-7 Jones (0-41) Tight against the top cushion, Jones knocks a do-or-die red into left middle. Great courage. He can now reap the rewards with so many reds out in the open. Perhaps it’s not as straightforward as it seems with the four reds around the pink covering each other but he plays a lovely little cannon into the cluster and everything is on now. Jones is bang in the balls and takes his break to 33 and counting. A BBC graphic shows he’s had 69% of the table time so far. Wilson looks pensive in his chair. The gap could be down to three very soon.
Wilson 11-7 Jones (0-8) Referee Paul Collier racks up the balls again and announces “19th frame”. Not the greatest break-off from Jones and he leaves a thin one into left-middle but Wilson undercuts it and the white runs into the loose-running red as it journeys back down the table. It leaves Jones in with the first chance of the frame. He pots an opening red before Collier has to clear a bug from the table. Ken Doherty makes a joke about it coming from Dennis Taylor’s rarely-opened wallet and the crowd, all with earpieces in listening to the BBC commentary, lap that old classic up. Jones isn’t laughing shortly after though as, on 8, he misses an easy red. But no opening emerges and we’re into cat-and-mouse tapping into the pack territory with four reds in baulk and another two out in the open. Kyren finally whacks them open but screws back to the top cushion. One mistake here and their opponent is in.
Wilson 11-7 Jones Jones adds the yellow to leave Wilson needing three four-point snookers but the Englishman plays on. Wilson takes green and blue but any attempts to to put Jones in trouble fall short and the Welshman knocks in a blue from distance to close the frame out. Job done. A break of 64, some confident pots and the gap is down to four. Frame score: 39-72 (64)
Wilson 11-6 Jones (32-65) Jones has the white under control and just needs the final red fairly close to the left-side cushion to leave Wilson leading snookers. With full concentration, he rather wobbles it in although forgets about position and a missed length-of-the-table pink leaves his advantage at 33 with just 27 left. Memories of last night maybe when Wilson won the closing frame from this kind of position. Jones’ 64 break is certainly a settler and he’s in prime position to cut the gap to four.
Wilson 11-6 Jones (32-43) One obvious difference between these two is scoring when in the balls. Wilson has knocked in four centuries in the final so far but Jones hasn’t managed a single ton. The Welshman has only reached triple figures twice all tournament which backs up the idea that a century looks good, elicits much applause but only wins you a single frame. Jones isn’t exactly in full control but he’s ahead in this opener and still going with his break now on 42.
Wilson 11-6 Jones (32-2) Wilson takes the easy red over the middle pocket and screws back for black. Four reds and blacks follow but, on 32, he falls out of position when trying to nudge the pack open and has to take his medicine and play safe. It’s rather careless, rolling into the yellow, and leaves Jones a thin red which he knocks in. He’s on a baulk colour too.
Wilson 11-6 Jones Wilson’s break off has left one sticking out down the right and Jones punches it home with aplomb. Great start. But it leaves him with a mid-length blue to the top-right baulk pocket and it wobbles in and out. Kyren is in and has some loose reds to work with.
A surprise from Kyren Wilson as he comes out to Completely and Utterly by The Chesterfields. Not really. According to the walk-on music thread I’ve found, it’s Chase & Status.
Rob Walker is suited and booted too. No doubt he’s run a 10k this morning. Here comes Jak Jones to the strains of The Sterephonics.
We’re close. Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis – 13 world titles between them and looking rather smart – give their thoughts to Hazel Irvine. Rob Walker will be working the room shortly and bringing on the players.
Can you win having been 7-0 down in a world championship final? John Parrott burst into a 7-0 lead over Jimmy White in 1991 and prevailed 18-11 which suggests no. And yet we all know what happened in 1985. Dennis Taylor was actually 8-0 behind against Steve Davis before Ted Lowe’s “nooo” on The Nugget’s cut-back black in that famous decider which allowed Dennis and his giant spectacles to erupt in stamping, finger-wagging euphoria.
The clock ticks down for this third session of four. Well, hopefully four if you want some green baize entertainment this evening. At 11-6 up, Wilson can be crowned world champion this afternoon if he wins seven of the eight frames. Unlikely, although he did just that yesterday afternoon.
Preamble
For the second year running, a new name will be engraved on the world championship trophy later today. Twelve months ago, carefree Belgian potter Luca Brecel struck a blow for Continental Europe but this time the winner will come from two of the game’s dominant forces: England and Wales. From John Spencer (1977) and Ray Reardon (1978), the winners of the first two editions at the Crucible, English and Welsh players have peppered us with iconic memories at the world championship. Those multiple victories for Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Mark Selby, Jimmy White’s continuous heartbreak, Reardon’s asides to the crowd, Doug Mountjoy’s frilly red shirts, Terry Griffiths’ revelation that “I’m in the final now, you know” before winning as a qualifier…
Ah, yes, winning as a qualifier. That’s what Jak Jones is also trying to achieve this week after a gutsy run to the final that took him past Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham, the latter two both former world champions. It seemed as if Jones had woken up during a bad dream when England’s Kyren Wilson opened with a century and raced into an eyepopping 7-0 lead on day one. But if there’s one thing we know about Jones it’s that he doesn’t lie down easily. From an ironic raised fist to the crowd after putting his first frame on the board, the 30-year-old from Cwmbran won the second session 5-4 to limit Wilson’s overnight lead to 11-6.
That doesn’t tell the whole story though. Jones looked on the brink of hitting his pillow at just 10-7 down when compiling a 64 break in the final frame of the day, leaving Wilson needing a snooker. But the Englishman found one, won a dramatic black-ball safety exchange and ensured the gap was five.
Wilson, beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2020 final, is the red-hot favourite to claim the title from here but Jones isn’t the type to roll over. Can he continue the fightback in today’s afternoon session? We’ll soon find out!
