sport news Jak Jones will aim to become the fourth qualifier to win the World Snooker ... trends now
Jak Jones will aim to become the fourth qualifier to win the World Snooker Championship after an arduous late night 17-12 victory over Stuart Bingham.
The clinical Jones faces World No 12 Kyren Wilson in Sunday’s final, looking to emulate the likes of Alex Higgins (1972), fellow Welshman Terry Griffiths (1979) and Shaun Murphy (2005).
In just his second Crucible appearance, the 30-year-old from Cwmbran showed plenty of steel as he dispensed with the 2015 champion to reach his first ranking final.
Bingham flashed on occasion, but never recovered after a perplexing attempt at a snooker on the green when a pot looked more straightforward while trailing 13-11.
With frames regularly topping the 40-minute mark, World No 44 Jones pulled away to win a marathon match which lasted over 12 hours.
Jak Jones (above) beat Stuart Bingham to reach the final of the World Snooker Championship
Jones said: 'When I think of watching the World Championship final every year, thinking it's a dream and what an unbelievable occasion it is, it doesn't really feel real that I'm in that World final!'
'But I am - and I couldn't be any happier.
'It's not been easy to get here. There are a lot of good players on the Tour and I haven't made a quarter-final all season and I didn't really come here with any confidence or sharpness.
'I don't think I'm playing well - I'm just winning. I'm not doing anything exceptional at all - I'm not scoring heavy really - I'm making 60s or 70s but I'm not doing anything special. If you keep winning those [tight] frames, they are big and they hurt your opponent.'
A rueful Bingham added: ‘I must have given eight frames away. I must have missed eight or nine blacks off the spot. I'm very disappointed after playing like I did against Ronnie. Just didn't enjoy it out there.’
Jones led 13-10 after a slow-paced morning session. Only seven of eight scheduled frames were played, largely due to the 21st frame, which lasted 50-minutes and saw toilet breaks from both men.
Consequently, many snooker sages were predicting
