Jak Jones defied the odds in May to reach the World Snooker Championship final before losing to Kyren Wilson.
The Welsh potter overcame some strong competitors including Judd Trump in the quarter-final and Stuart Bingham – the conqueror of Ronnie O’Sullivan – in the last four.
Jones is now on the map as a player and he will be hoping to continue his rise up the rankings as the 2024/25 campaign gets underway.
Following his exploits at The Crucible in May, Jones has now been discussing his match with Trump – and there is a point where he knew he’d have a chance in the match.
Jak Jones shares details of when he thought he’d beat Judd Trump
Going into the final session at 8-8, Trump produced arguably his worst session of snooker all season and was dumped out by Jones.
It means that the Bristolian has still only collected one world crown and the wait goes on for him to become a multiple winner.
Jones has shared some details of that match and has hinted that there is no needle between the two players.
He told the Talking Snooker podcast: “Yeah, I mean, I think I’ve realised since the tournament that you go into a press conference and journalists will say this player said this and that and you can take it out of context.
“He wasn’t himself, he was the Player of the Season, he and Ronnie won five tournaments each and obviously he was confident and he was playing really good.
“He started the match against me really well. The first frame he knocked in a big century but then in the second frame he was 60 ahead and I managed to come back and pinch it. That helped.
“I did notice a change in him, he didn’t seem to have the confidence that he usually has, he was doubting himself a lot more than usual.
“It was a bit of a shock but it was good for me because it gave me a better chance in the match.”
Jones must not prove his credentials this season
The 30-year-old has now burst onto the scene but he must prove that his last couple of showings in Sheffield aren’t a flash in the plan.
Snooker is all year round and it’s no good that Jones simply turns up in Sheffield every year.
The Silent Assassin is now a career-high 14th in the world and he will be hoping to kick on this season and pick up a title.
Jones is a steady player and he clearly enjoys the longer matches.
However, he’s got to get used to the smaller events and the shorter races are the kryptonite that he needs to conquer at the moment.
The player has all of the shots and now he will be hoping that he can beat more players like Trump as this season gets into full swing.