Essex favourite Ali Carter defeated Mark Williams 9-6 in the BetVictor English Open final in Brentwood to land the seventh ranking event win of his career.
The Captain, who is a qualified pilot, defeated Ding Junhui in yesterday afternoon’s first semi-final and had some unorthodox preparations for today’s title match. Carter took to the skies and flew his plane in the evening, whilst Williams was slugging it out in a classic last four clash with Shaun Murphy, which he won 6-5.
Carter’s previous triumph came at the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester back in 2024, but this is his first full knockout ranking title on English soil. It was greeted with joyous scenes in front of a delighted near capacity crowd in his home county.
Victory for Carter sees him pocket the £100,000 top prize and get his hands on the Steve Davis Trophy for the first time. He skyrockets from 25th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings to 16th, putting him in line for automatic qualification for snooker’s Triple Crown events. Williams moves from ninth up to eighth position.
Defeat means 51-year-old Williams is denied the chance to beat his own record as snooker’s oldest ever ranking event winner, which he set aged 50 at last year’s Xi’an Grand Prix. However, he does become the oldest ranking event finalist in 40 years, since Rex Williams competed in the 1986 Grand Prix title match.
They came into this evening with Williams holding a 5-3 advantage, but Carter hit back quickly when play resumed. Breaks of 64 and 57 restored parity, before Carter claimed the 11th to lead for the first time in the match at 6-5.
Williams strung together a run of 60 in the next to make it 6-6, but Carter immediately regained the initiative by winning the 13th. He then claimed a tense 41-minute frame, after depositing a clutch green to the right-hand centre to go 8-6 up and one from the title.
With the finishing post in sight, Carter surged over the line with contributions of 38 and 54 to claim victory. He clenched his fist in celebration after securing a momentous win.
“It doesn’t feel real at the moment. It hasn’t really sunk in,” said 47-year-old Carter. “I’ve not won as many titles as someone like Mark Williams, but it is great. The boys know I can play, that is for sure.
“In all my ranking events I’ve never beat one of the all-time greats in the final, to do that today makes it extra special. Not being detrimental to the other players I’ve beat it has been lower ranked players than me. To play Mark Williams and win in front of my home crowd is a dream come true.
“I was flying my aeroplane last night. I was getting in it, running the check list, starting it up and going out flying for half an hour. I was getting away from it all. That was nectar for me.”
Williams said: “I tried my best. I played alright in patches. I didn’t play too well tonight, but Ali put pressure on me and I didn’t handle it very well. He deserved to win. It was a great game and I enjoyed it. I tried my best. The crowd has been unbelievable all week. The conditions have been good, tough at times, but good. Well done and good luck to Ali.”
I have nothing to add really. I’m not Ali’s biggest fan because of a few things he did and said in the past, but then, of course, I did and do not know what kind of personal challenges he may have been facing at the time. He fully deserves this win and huge praise for it.
Flying his plane at night may seem a bizarre way to prepare for a snooker final, but, it is an exhilarating experience, I suppose, and one that reminds you of both your frailties and your strengths. One of the books that most fascinated me as a teenager is “Vol de nuit” by Antoine the St-Exupéry, written in 1931, and it’s, among other things, about a pilot, Fabian, working for Argentine’s airmail, who is caught in a cyclone, and, unable to control his plane, knowing he won’t reach his destination and land, decides to use his last fuel to fly higher , above the cyclone turmoil, and experiences a final moment of absolute and complete peace whilst facing his own death in a stunning star studded night sky.
Home favourite Ali Carter delighted a packed Brentwood crowd by reeling off five frames in a row to beat Chinese legend Ding Junhui 6-2 and make the BetVictor English Open final.
Victory sees Carter through to the 15th ranking event final of his career, where he will be gunning for a seventh ranking crown. The Captain’s last triumph came two years ago at the BetVictor Championship League.
Carter started the week placed 25th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, but if he can capture the Steve Davis Trophy and the £100,000 top prize tomorrow he will return to the elite top 16. In the Englishman’s way will be either compatriot Shaun Murphy or Welshman Mark Williams.
Defeat serves as a disappointment for 15-time ranking event winner Ding, but he can take solace from a fine week which included a 6-2 defeat of 2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson. The 39-year-old had got his season off to a slow start, having only won three of his seven matches at previous tournaments.
Ding made breaks of 98 and 65 in the first three frames this afternoon to lead 2-1 and had looked good to extend that lead before a missed brown proved to be costly. Carter cleared to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed, 47-year-old Carter took the match by the scruff of the neck to blitz to victory. Breaks of 74, 119, 76 and 77 made it five on the bounce and wrapped up a tremendous triumph.
Carter said: “I felt I was just hanging on in the first four frames, but to get out 2-2 was great as I was always on the back foot. I went out after the interval and played no miss snooker so it was amazing.
“To get in the top 16 at my ripe old age of 47 wouldn’t be too bad would it? There is a lot to play for tomorrow, but I’m going to be in there fighting. Arguably Shaun is one of the best players in the world and Mark Williams is an all-time great. It is going to be really tough but I’m going to savour it.
“It is brilliant to be here. It goes without saying that it is all about the winning, but it has been a good week to get to another final. I’m still competing with the best players in the world and it is a feather in my cap.“
Quite incredibly Ding didn’t score a single point after the MSI … 😳
Three-time World Champion Mark Williams staged an epic fightback to come from 5-1 down and beat Shaun Murphy 6-5 to reach the BetVictor English Open final in Brentwood.
The remarkable victory sees 51-year-old Williams become the oldest ranking finalist in 40 years. Rex Williams was 53 when he made the final of the Grand Prix back in 1986. Tomorrow he will have the opportunity to beat his own record as snooker’s oldest ranking champion, which he set aged 50 at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix.
Williams will now face home favourite Ali Carter in tomorrow’s final, with both players bidding to lift the Steve Davis Trophy for the first time. The victor will pick up a top prize of £100,000.
Murphy’s year-long wait for a ranking title is extended. The Magician last lifted silverware at the 2025 British Open and has endured heartbreak since then. He came agonisingly close to lifting snooker’s biggest prize earlier this year at the World Championship, falling just short against Wu Yize in an 18-17 final defeat.
Things looked to be going Murphy’s way when he charged into a 5-1 advantage. Williams showed his steel to stay in the contest with an 82 break in the seventh.
Murphy had a golden opportunity to wrap the win up when leading 5-2, but crucially spurned a black off the spot leading 61-5. Williams stepped in and cleared with 69 to steal on the black and trail 5-3.
After pulling within one frame, Williams again found himself on the verge of a tournament exit when Murphy led 56-0 in the tenth. However, the 26-time ranking event winner summoned a clearance of 65 to force a decider.
The final frame saw Williams, who was competing in his 70th ranking semi-final, once again step to the fore. He made 69 to earn a place in the final, for the 45th time in a ranking event.
Williams said: “I’m not sure how I managed to win. I looked at the scoreboard, saw 5-1 and thought I was out. I stuck in there and made a few good clearances. I got it back to 5-4 and he started to miss a few. It was a great clearance to go 5-5 and an unbelievable break in the decider.
“He missed an easy black at 5-2 and I just thought at least if I could clear up I wasn’t giving it to him. Those matches coming from 5-1 down probably only happen once in a thousand. I just had to stick in and that was the one time it turned round for me.
“It has to be up there with my best comebacks. I was 5-1 down and 60 odd behind on two occasions. I’m over the moon to have a crack at the final now.”
Willo was 3-1 down but it’s not as if he had been outplayed. Not at all. All four frames before the MSI had been close, hard fought frames. Mark Williams temperament and battling qualities are probably second to none. Behind the apparently nonchalant demeanour hides a ruthless warrior. Can he win today? I believe he can. He has all the tenacity and the patience in the world and is more than capable to play the sort of game that could frustrate Ali and push him into taking unduly risks. We shall see.
Mark Selby dug typically deep to defeat former International Champion Zhang Anda 4-3 on the final black at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
The Leicester cueman is in a rich vein of form, having claimed a fourth China Open title last month and lost the British Open final last weekend against Jak Jones. Four-time World Champion Selby admitted to being exhausted after that match, but is battling on to remain in contention here in Brentwood.
Zhang, having made a century run of 109 to force a decider, appeared to be in the box seat in the final frame. However, a fine clearance of 39 from Selby saw him snatch victory on the black.
“I feel like I’m playing some good stuff. I’m scoring when I get my chances and because I’m confident I’m happy to scrap it out. A few seasons ago, when I felt I was struggling, I got down on myself. When the games went scrappy I wasn’t out there fighting. Now because things are going good I have the fight in me,” said 43-year-old Selby.
“A lot of that goes back to when I spoke out and mentioned my mental health. At the time, I was struggling mentally. If you are struggling mentally it is hard to give it your all and still fight out there. At the moment I’m in a far better place. I’m still on medication and I’m still speaking to the doctor who helped me to turn it all around.”
Selby now faces the prospect of a last 16 meeting with Kyren Wilson, who prevailed 4-3 against recent Wuhan Open champion Chang Bingyu. Wilson’s victory was almost identical to Selby’s, also clinching the tie on the final black with a break of 39.
Wilson said: “Chang has had a fantastic season. If someone had said to me it would be 3-3 and I’d have a chance to win I’d have taken that.
“Mark has had a great season. He is playing very good snooker so I’m looking forward to it. My game has been hit or miss. I’m working hard. I’ve lost a bit of weight and I’m practising a lot on the table. I can’t do much more.“
World Champion Wu Yize came through 4-2 against Xu Si and now faces Liam Davies, who was a 4-1 victor against Wang Xinbo.
Judd Trump booked his progression thanks to a 4-1 defeat of Ashley Carty. He now plays Scotland’s Anthony McGill, who prevailed 4-1 against former European Masters winner Fan Zhengyi.
As usual the “late matches” aren’t covered and they didn’t yield any unexpected result either as Shaun Murphy whitewashed Jamie Clarke and Mark Williams beat Matthew Selt by 4-3 but, maybe , it’s worth mentioning that Shaun missed the 10th black in a 147 attempt during the first frame of his match yesterday.
I watched the Wilson v Chang match and it was very, very close indeed. The only “one sided” frame was the first: it was won by Kyren and featured the only big break of the match, an 83.
The other match I watched was Oliver Lines v Yuan Sijun. It’s not even mentioned in the above report which is a shame because it was a really good match, hard fought and high quality. Yuan won it by 4-3 and, between them, they had seven breaks over 50: 50, 113, 87 and 55 by Oliver, 140, 61 and 66 by Yuan. The 55 by Oliver came in the deciding frame, as did the “winning” 66 by Yuan.
The first match on the main table today1 will be Mark Selby v Kyren Wilson … “une finale avant la letter” as we would put it in French.
Well I suppose it will be on the main table… if it isn’t I would be nonplussed to say the least. ↩︎
There were a few upsets in the first round of the 2026 Englisg Open, a round that concluded yesterday.
Notably, Zhao Xintong lost by 4-2 to Oliver Lines, Neil Robertson lost by 4-3 to 25 years old rookie on tour Luo Zetao, Ross Muir got the better of top 16 member Xiao Guodong and 18 years old rookie Wang Zinbo beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, ranked 17th, by 4-2.
2019 World Champion Judd Trump admitted that only a week ending with silverware can be deemed a successful one, after getting his BetVictor English Open campaign underway with a 4-0 win over Jordan Brown in Brentwood.
The Ace in the Pack has enjoyed a winning start to the season after lifting silverware at the Shanghai Masters. However, he recently lost his world number one spot to 2025 Crucible king Zhao Xintong.
31-time ranking event winner Trump was visibly frustrated after suffering a 6-3 loss to eventual winner Jak Jones in the semi-finals of last week’s British Open. However, breaks of 87 and 68 helped him ease to a bounce-back win this evening. Next up he faces Ashley Carty.
“Any time you can win as comfortably as that is good. You want to save as much energy as possible. This is a busy part of the season. We’ve been playing pretty much every week for the last month and a half. You want to conserve energy and breeze throughout the opening rounds,” said 37-year-old Trump.
“It is a difficult sport to play because nine times out of ten you are going to go home unhappy every week. There are a lot more lows than there are highs in snooker. It is difficult but I think I’ve got better at managing it. I feel a lot of the time I’m not at my best so it can be disappointing. This season I feel pretty good so it hurts that much more when you do lose.“
Weshman Mark Williams reaffirmed his desire to continue competing indefinitely after scoring a 4-3 win over Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon.
Fellow Class of 92 members Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins, who aren’t competing this week, have recently discussed their plans to step away from the sport in the coming years. However, Williams says he has no plans for hanging up his cue.
51-year-old Williams said: “The other two have said they are going to finish in a couple of years, I’m going to be carrying on for whatever it is. I’ll be playing as much as I can.
“I’ll be playing in the amateur game or anything. You don’t have to worry about me. The other two, my compadres, say they will retire in a couple of years and that is good news for the rest. I’m going to carry on, even when I go down the rankings.
“We aren’t the players we used to be. John is nowhere near as good as he was. Ronnie is a patch on what he used to be. They put a time limit on it and I’ve accepted I’m nowhere near as good as I was.“
Last week’s losing British Open finalist Mark Selby scored a narrow 4-3 win over Ricky Walden to seal his progression. Next up the Leicester cueman faces China’s Zhang Anda.
Jamie Clarke was a 4-3 winner over David Gilbert, while Barry Hawkins overcame Lyu Haotian 4-2.
Mark Williams stance may surprise some but there is a story behind it. When, in 2014, he lost in the World Championship qualifiers, he felt very low and wanted to retire. His wife, Joanne, told him firmly that this wasn’t an option, that there is only so much golf he can play and that she wasn’t having him “sitting around the house” all day, day after day. Mark listened to her and his resurgence as a top player was/is remarkable. He always gives Joanne credit for it as well.
Oliver Lines scored a stunning 4-2 win over world number one Zhao Xintong in a day of shocks at the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.
…
It’s a first victory for the Yorkshireman against China’s first ever World Champion Zhao, with their only other meeting at the 2022 Welsh Open ending in a 4-1 defeat. Recent times have seen Lines working alongside coach and former German Masters winner Anthony Hamilton.
In what was a high quality affair this evening, 31-year-old Lines stood up against a fine display of break building from his illustrious opponent. Zhao composed contributions of 102 and 100 to leave the tie locked level at 2-2. However, it was Lines who made 71 and 84 to take the next two frames and book his place in the last 32 against Yuan Sijun.
“You know you have to raise your game. You try not to think about it, but you know if you don’t play somewhere near your best then you are going home,” said world number 53 Lines.
“When you come away it is nice to have a coach in your corner that really wants you to win. When I was going back to my seat I could see him in the corner of my eye just giving me a nod of encouragement.“
Chinese tour rookie Luo Zetao scored a surprise 4-3 win over world number four Neil Robertson to seal his progression.
25-year-old Luo earned his place on the circuit earlier this year thanks to his performances on the CBSA Tour. Robertson came within a match of the world number one spot in Wuhan last month, losing a winner-takes-all clash with Zhao. He joins him in an early exit this week.
Luo top scored with 112 in today’s win and will now face compatriot Gong Chenzhi, who overcame former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson 4-3.
2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson scored a 4-1 win over Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski to book a mouth watering clash with Wuhan Open winner Chang Bingyu.
Wilson said: “It was quite hard as he is a really lovely lad. I just met him and he was saying how excited he was and that this was his first time on the TV table. I had that in my mind, but you have to be ruthless, focus on yourself and I managed to finish the game off quite strongly.“
Strangely missing from this report is the match between Zhou Yuelong and Stan Moody. Moody was 3-1 up in this match, and at the MSI, neither player had scored a 50+ break. Then, after the MSI, Zhou won the next three frames to win the match, and between them, him and Moody, they scored five breaks over fifty in the process … don’t ask, I didn’t see the match 😳. And maybe it’s not that strange that it’s missing from the report as it finished quite late. It wasn’t the last match to finish on the (next) day though … the last match, that finished just one minute later, saw Joe O’Connor whitewash Florian Nūssle in a match that feature no break of note.
Jak Jones enjoyed the best moment of his career as he stunned Mark Selby 10-6 in the final of the Unibet British Open.
…
Former Crucible finalist Jones knocked out Judd Trump in the semi-finals on Saturday and again proved that he relishes the big occasion as he outplayed four-time World Champion Selby in an enthralling contest in Cheltenham.
From 5-5, Cwmbran’s 33-year-old Jones pulled away to win five of the last six frames to land the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000. Selby has a formidable record in ranking finals having won 26 of his previous 39, but this time it was his opponent who showed class and composure in the concluding phase.
The result continues a fabulous start to the season for Jones as he won his first title in July at the Championship League, and now becomes the 46th player in snooker history with multiple ranking crowns to his name. He jumps from 31st to 22nd in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and flies up to third on the one year list.
Highly promising in his junior days, notably winning the European under-19 Championship in 2010, Jones has moved gradually along snooker’s long learning curve, but now has the experience and self belief to beat the toughest opponents. His run to the World Championship final in 2024 was a huge leap forward, despite defeat to Kyren Wilson, and the Welshman is now breaking new ground.
This week’s superb run has come despite distractions at home as his wife Inna is due to give birth to their second son within the coming days. Seemingly unflappable under pressure, Jones has maintained his focus on the table all week and can now enjoy the celebrations.
Selby had looked to build on his best ever start to the season having won the China Open three weeks ago, but misses out on a 27th ranking title. After a trio of events in the Far East and then 4-3 scorelines in each of his first three matches this week, perhaps fatigue caught up with the 43-year-old and he uncharacteristically faded in the last session. Banking £45,000, he moves up from fourth to second in the rankings, behind only Zhao Xintong.
Tied 4-4 after the first session, Jones took the opening frame tonight with breaks of 44 and 30, then Selby hit back with a run of 100 for 5-5. For the sixth time, Jones went ahead, compiling a break of 65 in frame 11, and Selby looked set to level again until he overcut a routine red to a top corner on 66 in the 12th. It came down to a safety exchange on the green and Jones laid a tough snooker, creating the chance for him to clear and gain daylight for the first time at 7-5.
Trailing 56-45 in frame 13, Jones potted the penultimate red from long range but was unlucky to see the cue ball drop into a centre pocket, and Selby capitalised to halve his deficit. In the next Selby was 18-13 down when he under-hit an awkward black to a top corner, playing with the extended spider rest, and Jones punished him with 53 for 8-6. Soon Jones was three up with four to play thanks to a run of 62.
Early in frame 16, Jones potted six reds with blacks before a tricky red to centre on 48 hit the far jaw. Selby clawed his way back, taking it to the colours, but a tough final green stayed out, and that proved his last shot as Jones slotted in green, brown, blue and pink.
“The Championship League felt good, but obviously this is a completely different level, it’s a major tournament,” said Jones. “I’m over the moon. I felt I dragged Mark down a little bit throughout the day. I just kind of battled away and made a few 50 and 60 breaks. But to beat someone like Mark, who’s an all-time great and has won everything in the game, is incredible.
“It’s definitely the best day of my career. Winning a ranking event is better than coming runner-up in a World Championship. To finally win a big tournament like this – I thought it might not happen. It’s an unbelievable start to the season for me, so I’m buzzing. It has been tough for 15 years, I have been battling away but haven’t really achieved that much, so to start winning titles feels amazing.”
Selby said: “Jak played great from start to finish, he scored well and his safety was good. He was the best player on on the day. I felt it was only a matter of time before he started winning titles.“
Jak is due to play in the 2026 English Open this afternoon, but, likely, he will now turn most of his attention to his family as his wife, Inna, is due to give birth to their second child in the coming days. I’m wishing the whole family the very best. I hope that Inna has an easy delivery and, above all, that the child and the mother come out of this healthy and well. Nothing else really matters much in such moments. I’m sending the whole family my very best wishes. 🙏
Both semi-finals today will feature a former World Champion and prolific ranking events winner against a far less experienced1 opponent as Liam Highfield will play Mark Selby and Jak Jones will play Judd Trump, although Jak of course has reached the final at the Crucible, but he also currently has other things on his mind with the imminent birth of his second child. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t need to abandon the competition mid match because baby has decided to show up a week earlier than scheduled 😉.
World number 69 Liam Highfield, who turned pro in 2010, reached a ranking event semi-final for the first time by beating Stan Moody 5-2 at the Unibet British Open.
…
Stoke’s 35-year-old Highfield will face Mark Selby over a possible 11 frames on Saturday from 1pm for a place in the final in Cheltenham. China Open champion Selby built on his fine start to the season by crushing Jack Lisowski 5-0.
Highfield’s career was at a crossroads in 2024 when he was relegated from the tour, but his enthusiasm for snooker did not waver and he regained his card a year later by winning the EBSA European Championship. Since then, with the help of experienced mentor Anthony Hamilton, he has shown the best form of his life, notably reaching the Crucible last season and making his first official 147 during the qualifying rounds of this week’s event.
And in Cheltenham he has conceded just six frames in his four matches, making three centuries and ten more breaks over 50. He took the opening frame today with a run of 73 before 19-year-old Moody – who was also seeking a first ranking semi – levelled with a break of 87. Highfield regained the lead with a 74 then dominated frame four for 3-1.
Moody got the better of a scrappy fifth, then frame six came down to a safety exchange on the final blue. Trapped in a snooker, Moody played a rash hit-and-hope escape, handing his opponent the chance to slot the blue into a centre pocket for 4-2. A run of 56 in the next proved enough for Highfield to continue his best week on the baize.
“It’s a bit surreal after so many years on tour, struggling away in the qualifiers, it’s nice to have a day in the sunshine finally,” said Highfield. “I’ve been playing well all week, pretty much all season so far. I’ve been scoring heavily and my safety’s been tight. When you’re doing those couple of things, if you pot the odd long ball, you’ve got a chance in every match.
“In the sixth frame, we were both feeling it at that stage in the match. He was trying to get back into it and I was trying to get two ahead. I settled down, got my chance in the last and got over the line. Any time I play Mark Selby I’d feel excited and nervous anyway, whether it’s a semi-final or any other match. So I’ll go out and try to savour it, and try to just play some snooker.”
Selby is into his 71st ranking event semi-final and remains on target for his second ranking title of the season and 27th of his career. The Leicester cueman took advantage of an out-of-sorts display from home favourite Lisowski today to score a comfortable victory.
A break of 82 gave world number four Selby the opening frame, and he added the second with 43 and 40. In the third he enjoyed a slice of fortune, escaping from a snooker on the last red and fluking a snooker in return. Lisowski failed to hit the red, left a free ball, and Selby took the chance to clear for 3-0. He added the next two with a top run of 64 as he maintained his superb recent record in this event, having finished runner-up 2023, lifted the trophy in 2024 and reached the semi-finals last year.
Four-time World Champion Selby said: “I felt better today than I did in my previous matches. The third frame was a big moment because he would have been back in the match at 2-1. I know what a talent Jack is and I had to keep him at bay so I tried not to take too many risks. If his shots are going in he’s a world beater, that’s the way he plays and he’s great to watch.“
Judd Trump may have relinquished the world number one position, but he gave a timely reminder of his enduring class with a 5-1 victory over new incumbent Zhao Xintong to reach the semi-finals of the Unibet British Open.
…
Trump had a two-year spell as top dog in the rankings until he was eclipsed last month by 2025 World Champion Zhao, and the Englishman admits he was highly motivated tonight to land a blow on his rival. He was by far the superior player as he marched into the last four of this event for the first time. On Saturday from 7pm he will face Jak Jones over a possible 11 frames – the 76th ranking semi-final of Trump’s career and he is hoping to win a 32nd title. He’s also aiming for a second trophy of the season having landed the invitational Shanghai Masters last month.
Breaks of 101 and 57 helped Trump to a 2-0 lead before Zhao pulled one back with a run of 100. China’s Zhao failed to pot a ball in the next two frames as his opponent compiled runs of 51, 54 and 72 for 4-1. In frame six, Zhao had the chance to start a fight-back, but he missed an awkward pink to centre on 18, and Trump’s break of 49 sealed the result.
“It was a big game, I have not been that up for a game for a while,” said 37-year-old Trump. “You always have something to prove when someone takes the limelight and you want to prove to everyone you’ve still got it. I wouldn’t say it was a grudge game, but there was a bit more on the line than normal.
“Sometimes I need that kind of rivalry, or someone there just to really get me back on the practice table and get that determination back. When you get older and you’ve been around so long, you can be a bit flat. These are the kind of games you can really get up for.
“I always enjoy being the underdog and I could feel that inside today. It’s always nice to beat the player that’s number one. The atmosphere tonight was much better, there was a lot more cheering and support out there.“
Jones got the better of a fierce battle against Aaron Hill, winning 5-4 to reach his fifth ranking semi-final. The world number 31 from Cwmbran made the perfect start to the season by winning his first ranking title at the Championship League and is now just two wins away from a second.
After losing the opening frame, Hill took the next two with breaks of 63 and 67, and he had a clear chance in the fourth but missed the final green to a baulk corner and that allowed Jones to square the tie at the interval. A run of 94 from Jones put him 3-2 ahead and he snatched a 45-minute sixth with a 35 clearance.
Hill took the next two frames in just 17 minutes with breaks of 47 and 78 to set up the decider, and he had first scoring chance but made just 14 before missing a red to a top corner. Jones, who was runner-up to Kyren Wilson at the Crucible in 2024, spotted a four ball plant and executed it perfectly, enjoying a slice of fortune as he landed position on the pink. The 33-year-old Welshman went on to make 70 to clinch the tie.
“It was really tough, Aaron is such a good player,” said Jones, whose wife Inna is due to give birth to their second child next week. “We were both under pressure. It was a big frame to go 2-2 when he missed the green because my head was gone at that point. Then from 4-2 he started walking around the table with confidence, so I was very happy to get the chance in the decider and make a good break. Judd has been the best player of the last ten years so it will be very difficult.”
I watched the Highfield v Moody game and one could see that both players were feeling the pressure as none of them has that much experience in matches of such importance. Clearly working with “the Sheriff” has been beneficial for Highfield. Anthony Hamilton may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he’s a very, very knowledgeable person when it comes to snooker2, and is very clever on and off the table. He probably wouldn’t be the best coach for a young aspiring player, but Liam has been on and around the tour for years and is mature enough to be able to fully benefit from “Ants” advice.
I mean experienced at the semi-finals stage of a ranking event ↩︎
and not just when it comes to snooker BTW, he’s a bit special but very clever ↩︎
