On May 5, 2024, Beijing time, the World Snooker Championship ushered in the pinnacle showdown, and the final competition of this competition began. The World Championship is the highest level of snooker, and winning the World Championship is the dream of every professional player. However, due to the domination of snooker by British Isles players, only three non-British Isles players in history won the World Championships, and most of the championships were won by post-70s and post-80s players, and the only post-90s world champion Brezier won the championship last season. Kyren Wilson and Jack Jones, who reached the finals of this competition, are both post-90s players, and a new post-90s world champion is about to be born.
Although all professional players of the Chinese Legion participated in this competition, their record was the worst in recent years. Through the qualifying competition, only 5 people appeared in Crucible, including Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Pang Junxu and Lu Haotian, and the results were all out in the first round of the main tournament except for Si Jiahui. In the 1/16 game, Si Jiahui, the lone seedling of the Chinese Legion, lost to Jack Jones 9:11 and was out, so the Chinese Legion was completely wiped out. Although only 10 Chinese players were banned last season, including outstanding players such as Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, at least Si Jiahui also reached the semi-finals.
In the end, the dark horses Jack Jones and Kyren Wilson advanced to the finals, setting a record for the lowest ranking in the past 37 years. Neil Robertson has been in a slump in form in the last two seasons, and this tournament started with qualifying, but was eliminated from the qualifying round. In the first round of the main event, 8 seeded players were out, and in the 1/8 game, Mark Allen and others were out one after another. In the 1/4 game, Rocket O'Sullivan and Trump had no intention of falling in love, and both were upset, and it seems that snooker is going to regroup.
The final of the World Snooker Championship adopts a best-of-35 system of 18 rounds, which is divided into 4 stages (8 rounds/9 rounds/8 rounds/10 rounds). Here's what the first phase of the battle looks like.
Kyren Wilson 7:1 Jack Jones
Jack Jones was the biggest dark horse of the tournament, having been ranked 44th in the world before the tournament and soared to 14th in the world rankings as he reached the final, breaking into the top 16 for the first time in his career. If he wins the tournament, he will rise to 6th in the world ranking. Jack Jones has had a tepid career, with no impressive results, and his best result this season is only the round of 32. This year's competition started from the qualifying round, successively defeated Chinese players Zhou Yuelong, Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, etc., and then upset Trump in the 1/4 game, and upset the world champion Bingham 17:12 in the semi-final competition.
Kyren Wilson is the only seeded player in the top four of this tournament, and his entry into the final also saved some face for the snooker master. Kyren Wilson, who was ranked 14th in the world before the tournament and is now ranked 6th since reaching the final, would overtake Brecel to move to No. 3 if he wins the title. Kyren Wilson has won 5 ranking tournaments in his career and was once the best player of the post-90s. Last season, the post-90s Brezier won the championship and replaced Kyren Wilson, but this season Brecel is in a slump, and if Kyren Wilson wins this competition, he will regain the post-90s "leader" position.
In this match, both in terms of world ranking and historical record, Kyren Wilson has the advantage. But the biggest advantage of dark horse Jack Jones is that he has a strong psychological quality, can stay calm in any situation, and has a style of play very similar to Selby, resulting in Trump and others not being able to play when they encounter him.
In the first game of the game, Kyren Wilson quickly entered the state, and the state was hot, and with his accurate long-distance start, he scored 129 points in a single stroke to win the game, and made a good start. In the second game, Kyren Wilson scored twice and scored 52 points in a single stroke, winning the next game at 87:35 and leading 2:0. In the third game, Jack Jones's form was still not improving, and Kyren Wilson scored several times to finally win the game 76-14. In the fourth game, Kyren Wilson scored 66 points in a single stroke and won 109:7, leading 4:0.
In the fifth game, Kyren Wilson continued to maintain a good hand, scored twice, scored 62 points in a single stroke, and won the next game with 84:0. In the sixth game, Kyren Wilson started from afar and once again scored 125 points in a single stroke to win the game. In the seventh game, Jack Jones scored only 11 points on two starts, which shows the difference in form. Then Kai Wilson scored 90 points in a single stroke and won the next game 90:11. In the eighth game, Jack Jones seized the opportunity to score 65 points in a single stroke and struggled to pull back a game, falling behind 1:7.