Kyren Wilson opens up daunting lead over Jak Jones in World Snooker Championship final

05/05/2024 16:52

Kyren Wilson has opened up a big early lead in the World Snooker Championship final, surging 7-1 ahead of Jak Jones after the first session on Sunday afternoon.

The Warrior has been the most dominant force of the tournament so far and he continued that trend into the showpiece contest.

The 32-year-old made the perfect start, knocking in a break of 129 in the opening frame to settle any nerves that may have been jangling in his second Crucible final.

While the more experienced man settled quickly, the player in his first World Championship final did not, missing a number of chances as Wilson forged his lead.

Breaks of 52 and 66 came before the mid-session interval and on the resumption there quickly came breaks of 62 and 125 as the Englishman sat pretty at 6-0 ahead.

Jones rattled in a superb long red to start the seventh frame, but his brief boost in confidence quickly ebbed away as he knocked in the black and immediately lost position.

Wilson was having no such problem in the break-building department, making a 90 to extend his lead still further.

A bruising afternoon did at least finish on a positive note for the underdog, though, as Wilson finally showed weakness with a missed a red to corner and let Jones in.

The Silent Assassin, to his immense credit, gathered himself to make 65 and get his first frame on the board, ending the session 7-1 behind.

The frame wasn’t over after the 65 effort, but Jones gave the crowd a hearty fist pump as they roared him to give him support.

Wilson returned to the table to try for snookers after that, worrying Jones a bit, but it was fruitless.

There is the potential for four sessions in total in a race to 18 frames for the trophy and the top prize of £500,000, although Jones will need to close the gap to take the match to Monday night.

Jones will be looking to the precedent of 1985 when Dennis Taylor fell 8-0 behind Steve Davis only to come back and win the match 18-17 on the final black.

MORE : Can the Warrior halt the unlikeliest march to the Crucible throne?

MORE : Jak Jones baffled by ‘pathetic excuses’ of World Snooker Championship opponents

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