Jak Jones ends 16 years of hurt with first major ranking title at Championship League snooker - 'More nervous than world final'
Published 16/07/2026 at 10:25 GMT+1
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Jak Jones first turned professional in 2010 at the tender age of 16, but the one-time World Championship finalist probably did not expect to wait another 16 years to claim his first major ranking title in the sport.
Watch: Jones smashes ball in 'sheer frustration' to hand Selby victory
Video credit: TNT Sports
That long barren period finally ended on Wednesday evening when Jones realised his childhood dreams with a 3-2 win over David Gilbert in the title match at the Championship League, the first ranking event of the new season.
Jones was forced to hit back after trailing Gilbert, winner of the event in 2021, with closing breaks of 86 and 55 enough to seal the title in a high-scoring joust at Leicester's Mattioli Arena.
His opponent had produced 106 and 66 to move ahead after the Cwmbran potter had levelled at 1-1 with a run of 64, but Jones held his nerve to become only the seventh winner of the ranking version of the competition.
"For the first time, Jak Jones can say: 'I am a ranking event winner'," said Phil Yates on commentary.
Jones, who moved inside the world's top 30 with victory carrying him up to 29th from 32nd in the standings, produced an unexpected run to the world final in 2024, losing 18-14 to Kyren Wilson at the Crucible.
But he felt trying to get over the line in Leicester was a bigger ordeal.
"It feels unreal, I was more nervous tonight than I was in the world final," Jones, who hit five centuries and earned ÂŁ33,000 in his run to the first ranking event of the new season, told reporters.
"It's a monkey off my back and good to get that out of the way.
"It's great for my wife and son who support me.
"And my parents have spent 15 years watching me lose, so it's nice to win one for them."Â
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Jones topped Winners' Group 2 on seven points to claim his spot in the final, three points clear of Hossein Vafaei, with Dylan Emery (3) and Zhang Anda (2) finishing out of contention.
Gilbert also finished with seven in Group 1, edging out Noppon Saengkham by a point in a section that also contained Elliott Slessor (2) and Lei Peifan (1).
Jones returns to Leicester next week for qualifying matches in the Shenzhen Open on Wednesday afternoon and the British Open, where he faces Matthew Selt on Friday morning.
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