Championship League winner Jak Jones pays emotional tribute after first ranking title
Jak Jones has paid an emotional tribute to his family after winning the first ranking title of his career at the Championship League.
The Welshman has been to a World Championship final but has never got his hands on his professional trophy until Wednesday night in Leicester.
The 32-year-old beat Dave Gilbert 3-2 in the final after falling behind twice to the Angry Farmer, but fighting back in a dramatic short-format contest.
Still young in snooker terms, but it has been a long journey for Jones who first turned pro as a teenager in 2010.
The £33,000 Championship League top prize represents a minor ranking event on the World Snooker Tour, but it is a box ticked and a weight off the shoulders for the man from Cwmbran.
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Speaking after the tense victory, he said: ‘It feels unreal, to be fair. I probably felt more nervous there than I did in the World final, so it’s crazy really. Probably the smallest ranking event, but I’ll take it.
‘I’ve just stuck in there, I don’t think I’ve ever got through my first group in this tournament. To win it this year, it’s pretty good.
‘I know it’s probably the smallest ranking event but it’s still a monkey off my back, if you know what I mean. I won’t really be thinking, I need to win a ranking event, so it’s good to get that out the way.’
Jones had heartfelt words for his family after the victory, with his parents especially thanked for their support over his career so far.
‘It’s good for my wife, my son, who support me so much. I can’t wait to go home to them. Also for my parents who’ve been through 15 years of watching me lose all the time so it’s nice to win one for them.’
Jones only scraped through his first group, finishing on four points from three games but topping the table on frame difference.
His second stage group was tough, but impressive wins over Chang Bingyu and Marco Fu saw him progress.
The last group saw him beat Hossein Vafaei and Dylan Emery and draw with Zhang Anda to book his spot in the final with Gilbert.
As for the Englishman, he came so close to becoming the first player to win the ranking version of this event twice, but will have to settle for the £23,000 runner-up prize.
It’s been a good start to the season for Gilbert, who had testing groups, with his second featuring Chris Wakelin, Ali Carter and He Guoqiang.
The 45-year-old then went unbeaten in his third group with Noppon Saengkham, Elliot Slessor and Lei Peifan but just fell short against Jones.
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