Four matches reached their conclusion at the Crucible yesterday and, as I expected, the qualifiers of the “class of 2024” are proving to be very strong. Hereafter are WST reports on the four matches that finished yesterday.
Jak Jones continued to build his reputation as a Crucible specialist as he beat Zhang Anda 10-4 in the opening round of the Cazoo World Championship.
Welshman Jones was hugely impressive on his debut last year, knocking out Ali Carter and Neil Robertson before losing narrowly to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals. The 30-year-old’s calm temperament makes him well suited to snooker’s biggest tournament and again he handled the occasion with composure, outplaying Zhang as he booked a second round meeting with Mark Williams or Si Jiahui.
China’s Zhang has been one of the season’s star players, winning his first ranking title at the International Championship and reaching two other finals, but his form has dipped in recent weeks. Appearing at the Crucible as a top 16 seed for the first time, the world number 11 managed just one break over 50.
Jones built a 5-2 lead in Saturday’s opening session with top breaks of 55, 75 and 58. He dominated the opening frame today to extend his advantage, then got the better of an exchange on the colours in frame nine, potting blue and pink for 7-2. Zhang took the tenth but crucially lost the next on the colours again, Jones converting excellent pots on yellow, green and brown. He added the 12th with runs of 47 and 29 for 9-3.
A break of 95, his only highlight of the day, allowed Zhang to add one more to his tally, before Jones wrapped up the tie with 36 and 35 in frame 14.
JAK’S BACK!
“It wasn’t a pretty match, but it feels good to win,” said world number 44 Jones, who beat Jamie Clarke and Zhou Yuelong in the qualifying rounds. “Zhang was the seed but he hadn’t played here for a few years so it was tough for him too. We were both nervous and when you miss balls it gets on top of you. I wasn’t killing off frames in one visit, I played some careless shots. So I need to improve that. The table is fast and reactive which takes time to get used to. I like the longer matches because it gives you time to settle down.“
As for his last 16 tie, Jones added: “Mark Williams is one of the best players ever, and Si was brilliant here last year. So either way it will be very tough.”
This result doesn’t surprise me at all, the signs were there for all to see during the qualifying rounds. Jak is a very, very good player and strong mentally. I still remember him playing in the Pink Ribbon at Paul Mount’s SWSA. He was a very young pro then, barely more than a kid. He was well supported by his family, a “big” family1 that wasn’t particularly well off but took huge pride in Jak’s achievements. He wore a charming dark blue waistcoat – what we call “bleu nuit” in french – adorned with bright yellow little stars… but there was nothing charming about him for his opponents. Young Jak was hard as nails on the table even then.
Judd Trump launched his quest to double his tally of Crucible crowns as he came through a tough test in the opening round of the Cazoo World Championship, beating Hossein Vafaei 10-4.
Trump was at a low ebb this time last year when he lost to Anthony McGill in the first round, having failed to win a ranking event all season. But in 2023/24 his fortunes have been transformed, landing a bumper haul of five ranking titles as well as reaching three more finals. He has rivalled Ronnie O’Sullivan as player of the season, and the pair are rated favourites for the £500,000 top prize in Sheffield.
Bristol’s world number two Trump won his only Crucible title in 2019 and is looking to join the elite group of six players to lift the trophy more than once at the Theatre of Dreams. World number 19 Vafaei could have been a difficult early test. But 34-year-old Trump, while not at his best, was on top from the early stages and never looked back.
He led 6-3 after the first session, making breaks of 63, 66, 72, 56 and 77. Vafaei took the first frame today before Trump dominated the next two for 8-4.
In frame 13, Vafaei trailed 57-0 then had a chance to clear, but failed to pot the penultimate red to a top corner, playing left-handed rather than using the rest. Trump punished him to go five up with six to play, and he could have wrapped up the tie in the 14th, but failed to gain position on the final pink. Vafaei took pink and black for 9-5, but there was no spark of a fight-back as Trump’s 43 helped him win frame 15.
“It was a tough draw though I have always played well against Hossein and I enjoy playing him,” said Trump, who will face Tom Ford or Ricky Walden next. “I made some good clearances in the first session and that helped put the match to bed. I didn’t want to go out in the first round two years in a row.
“I have come here with a lot of confidence, after such a good season. It’s nice to feel part of the tournament now and I can get excited about the second round. I can watch everyone else stress out, I love this event and I’ll watch a lot of matches on TV.
“I haven’t decided yet whether to go back to Bristol before my next game, I will speak to my brother and we will decide. In a way it’s nice to be around Sheffield and to feel the buzz in the city.”
Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy pulled away from 3-3 to take a 6-3 advantage over Lyu Haotian. Murphy fired breaks of 53, 71, 90 and 111.
JUDD’S JOY WITH OPENING WIN
In many ways, Vafaei was the ideal first round opponent for Trump. He plays a very open game which means that he’s bound to give his opponents opportunities. The heavy scorers in the game – like Trump or Ronnie – will take advantage more often than not. And Trump will have another very gettable match as he will face Tom Ford next, another opponent whose style rather suits him.
At the fifth time of asking, Tom Ford is a match winner in the final stages of the Cazoo World Championship, after defeating former semi-finalist Ricky Walden 10-6 in their opening round encounter.
The Leicester cueman is appearing at the Crucible as a seed for the first time, after a career best season has seen him rise to 14th in the world, his highest ever ranking.
Ford made the International Championship final earlier this season. He scored wins over the likes of Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins on his way to the most significant of his three career finals thus far. However, Zhang Anda denied Ford a maiden ranking title.
The omens bode well for 40-year-old Ford. Just 12 months ago Luca Brecel claimed his first ever match win at the Crucible, on this occasion at the sixth time of asking. He went on to sensationally capture a maiden World Championship title.
Defeat ends another disappointing Crucible campaign for Walden, who has only won three matches on snooker’s biggest stage since making the last four in 2013.
The pair came into this evening with Ford holding a commanding 6-3 advantage. He quickly extended that lead in the opening frame, with a break of 85 to move four clear.
At that point, Walden responded with runs of 56 and 80 as he reduced his arrears to 7-5. However, the last frame before the mid-session went the way of Ford as he halted his opponent’s momentum to go 8-5 ahead.
When play resumed a break of 82 placed Ford just a frame from victory. Although Walden clinched the 15th to extend the match, a pair of 54 breaks from Ford in the next were enough to give him his first ever victory at the Theatre of Dreams.
Next up he faces world number two Judd Trump, who he’s played twice before at the Crucible. Both encounters were closely contested, but went the way of Trump by a 10-8 scoreline.
“I’m just over the moon to get that first win. I felt a lot calmer and more relaxed this time. Coming to the media day before the event helped, just getting the vibe of the place and the atmosphere. I’ve not put all that pressure on myself in the qualifiers and put myself through it. I think that has shown.”
Tom Ford
World Number 14
Ford added: “I’ve only just won my first ever game at the Crucible. So I’m not going to sit here and say I’m starting to look at the trophy, because I’m not. The only thing I’m looking at is trying to get past Judd Trump in the second round.
“I’ve learned how to deal with difficult situations and get on with it. When things go wrong I come back to the table and feel confident. I think that has shown over the last two years.
“I feel stronger mentally than when I last played Judd at the Crucible. I’ve always struggled with the mental side of the game. I’d miss a few and beat myself up a bit. It is going to be a tough game, but I feel stronger so hopefully it can be different this time.”
Tom indeed looks much stronger mentally than he used to be. Will it be enough to get the better of Judd Trump? I’m not sure. I can’t really comment on the match as I didn’t watch much of that one at all but I feel sorry for Ricky whose career has been ruined by back injuries. This is nothing against Tom at all, it’s just that I like Ricky. He’s the first player I got to known personally when he came to play a pro-am in Belgium some 15 years ago. His then manager, Lee Gorton, is the one who introduced me on the circuit and he also organised the first PTC in Belgium, the 2010 EPTC2 in Bruges.
After missing out on the Crucible last year, Stephen Maguire enjoyed the adrenaline buzz of being back on the main stage during a 10-7 victory over Ali Carter in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship.
The Scot was ever-present at the Crucible from 2004 to 2022, then failed to make it last year having dropped out of the top 16. This time the world number 28 negotiated the qualifying rounds to make it back to the Theatre of Dreams. “There were a couple of frames yesterday when I felt a bit flat, so I smashed the table and felt better,” said Maguire. “I’d rather go out fighting. Otherwise I felt the adrenaline flowing all the way through the match. I enjoyed being back here.“
With semi-final appearances in 2007 and 2012 as well as five other runs to the quarter-finals, six-time ranking event winner Maguire has plenty of experience and will be a dangerous opponent if he builds up a head of stream. His next match will be against old adversary Shaun Murphy if the 2005 champion can convert a 6-3 lead over Lyu Haotian into a second round berth.
World number nine Carter becomes the third seed to be knocked out on the opening weekend, joining Luca Brecel and Zhang Anda, and another could fall on Monday with Mark Selby 7-2 down against Joe O’Connor.
Maguire trailed 5-4 overnight but took the opening frame today with a tremendous colours clearance, converting a series of difficult pots. Carter recovered to lead 7-6 at the interval but Maguire then grew stronger and dominated the last four frames with top breaks of 55 and 80.
“It was a tough match, I felt I had to take balls on because Ali’s safety is better than mine,” added 43-year-old Maguire. “I got away with a few and fluked a few. Sometimes if you are the aggressor things can happen – you don’t often fluke balls when you play safe. The clearance I made in the first frame today was one in a hundred and that got me off and running.
“If I play Shaun in the next round it should be a great game, we both go for everything so it should be very open and I enjoy going toe to toe in matches like that.”
Carter said: “I didn’t play well and didn’t get the rub of the ball. He had four lashes at long balls, missed them by a mile and left me with nothing. But he played well, he was a very tough draw because he has got his mojo back. We both wanted to win badly.
“It’s a disappointing end to a good season. I’m 45 and maybe this event takes too much out of me now. I had a lot of pressure and expectation. Not ranking or financial pressure, but I felt I had a good chance this year and so maybe I expected too much of myself.“
MAGUIRE – GREAT TO BE BACK
Now there’s a result that pleased me! I’m no fan of Carter and I really like Maguire, an “emotional” type of player, full of passion, one who always says it how he sees and feels it, a player who attacks the table. And one who – involuntarily – was at the heart of one of the most surrealistic moments I lived at the Crucible. It was in 2013. Dechawat Poomjaeng had just beaten Maguire by 10-9 in the first round. That was a match where Poomy had ran the show, jumping – literally – around the table, applauding his own good shots, laughing … The crowd was amused but his opponent wasn’t, that’s for sure. A defeated Maguire entered the media room, slumped rather than sat on the “interview” chair, leaned towards the media over a table that was literally covered with mikes and recorders as every “media” person – there must have been at least 30 of us there – was eagerly awaiting his reaction, half covered his mouth and whispered in a conspirator’s tone … “Between us … he’s not the full shilling…”. There was nothing nasty about the whole thing, he was just devastated, completely nonplussed and utterly confused at what he had gone through during this match, without a clue how to handle it. But the “between us” addressing an absolutely packed media room … it was hilarious.
Five matches were played to a conclusion so far and its 3-2 in wins for the qualifiers…
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
So far, so good in terms of players losing who Ronnie doesn’t like to play against and O’Connor is likely to extend that pattern soon.