Judd Trump faces a fight for survival in the World Snooker Championship in a tight quarter-final with Jak Jones this morning. The world No 2 finished Tuesday’s play level with the Welshman at 8-8, and it promises to be a compelling battle as they race to 13 frames.
On the other side of the arena, John Higgins and Kryen Wilson resume their high-scoring contest. The consequences of Higgins’ draining win over Mark Allen on Monday night appeared to be on display in the quarter-finals as Wilson swept the first half of the opening session 4-0 yesterday, but Higgins responded with two strong century breaks and heads into the morning’s play only trailing 5-3.
This afternoon and evening, Ronnie O’Sullivan will return to the arena to finish his match with Stuart Bingham after they ended the first session all square at 4-4. And in the other quarter-final, David Gilbert took a commanding 10-6 over Stephen Maguire ahead of their final session today.
Follow all the action from the World Snooker Championship below, and get the latest predictions and odds here.
Jones wins 17th frame! Trump 8-9 Jones (best of 25)
Jones slowly puts together a nice break to get himself into the lead in this frame, and although he can’t quite clear the table, it’s enough to clinch it.
A scrappy frame in which both players made shocking misses, but Jak Jones won’t mind about that.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 10:34
World Snooker Championship: Trump 8-8 Jones (best of 25)
Trump loses a bit of position and ends up taking on and missing a tricky red aimed at the green pocket.
Jones pots a few balls after winning a brief safety exchange, but loses control too and is forced to play safe. It’s not safe, though, because Trump spots a clever three-ball plant – yet Trump misses a moment later with a very simple pink which was sitting on the black spot!
It’s been a catalogue of errors from both players so far. Trump leads the frame 27-15 but it’s Jones at the table now.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 10:25
World Snooker Championship: Trump 8-8 Jones (best of 25)
First blood to Jones as Trump fluffs a difficult long red, leaving it over the yellow pocket. Jones knocks it in and he’s perfectly on the blue… but somehow misses it! That’s remarkable, at this level.
Trump now has a decent chance to score some early points.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 10:15
World Snooker Championship: Trump 8-8 Jones (best of 25)
The 2010 world champion Neil Robertson describes Jak Jones’ safety game as among the top five players in the world. Could that tactical play help him pull off a major upset today?
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 10:12
World Snooker Championship: Trump v Jones
Here we go then, as Judd Trump and Jak Jones linger outside the curtain about to enter the arena.
Jones is the lowest ranked player left in the competition, up against the second seed, but he’s done brilliantly so far to give Trump a serious contest.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 10:06
World Snooker Championship – today’s schedule
Here’s how they line up on what promises to be an entertaining day at the Crucible Theatre, with all four quarter-finals playing to a conclusion.
Kyren Wilson 5-3 John Higgins
David Gilbert 10-6 Stephen Maguire
Stuart Bingham 4-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Kyren Wilson v John Higgins
Stuart Bingham v Ronnie O’Sullivan
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 09:55
Recap: Gilbert dominates Maguire to close on semi-final spot
David Gilbert is in control of his quarter-final against Stephen Maguire as he leads 10-6 heading into Wednesday afternoon’s final session. On Tuesday morning, Gilbert blitzed his Scottish opponent to lead 7-1 and appeared to be cruising into a second Crucible semi-final after his 2019 heroics. But Maguire dug deep in the evening session to win five of the eight frames, including a century, to at least give himself a fighting chance in the race to 13.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 09:44
Recap: O’Sullivan and Bingham level after opening session
O’Sullivan, bidding for a record eighth world title, had looked out of sorts during the early exchanges following some wayward cueing as Bingham – who beat Jack Lisowski 13-11 on Monday night – took the first two frames with breaks of 55 and 75.
Bingham, world champion in 2015, was then set for a potential maximum chance in the next, but came up short of position off the seventh red, allowing O’Sullivan back to build a break of 66 which eventually proved enough to get a first frame on the board.
At the start of the last frame before the mid-session interval, O’Sullivan sent what looked a routine black into the jaws of the bottom right pocket, leaving the table set for Bingham to produce a break of 90 and further cement his advantage. ‘The Rocket’ returned to hit a fine 116 break and reduce the deficit with his 206th century at the Crucible.
World No 1 O’Sullivan looked to have spurned a chance to level up after missing a red into the bottom left pocket when on a break of 43, but Bingham then failed to sink one into the middle, which allowed his fellow Essex cueman back to pinch the frame.
Both players continued to make unforced errors, with O’Sullivan banging his cue against the table after missing an early red. However, another mistake from Bingham when attempting a long pot after running out of position gave O’Sullivan a chance to build what eventually proved a frame-winning break of 64 and – after Bingham had initially played on when needing four snookers – saw him move ahead in the match for the first time.
Bingham, though, made sure he would end on level terms with a break of 72 in the final frame to leave the match delicately poised when it resumes on Wednesday afternoon for the final two sessions.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 09:32
Recap: Higgins recovers from slow start against big-scoring Wilson
John Higgins staged a late fightback to trail Kyren Wilson 5-3. Wilson, runner-up to O’Sullivan in 2020, started in fine form with half-century breaks in each frame – including back-to-back runs of 95 and 93 – as he opened up a 4-0 lead by the mid-session interval.
Four-time former world champion Higgins – making his 18th quarter-final appearance after edging out Mark Allen in a thrilling last-frame decider on Monday evening – got a frame on the board after a fine clearance of 129.
Wilson, though, hit back straight away with a 121 break of his own before veteran Scot Higgins again dug in, pulling another frame back after a run of 73 and then a clearance of 102 left him just two behind heading into Wednesday.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 09:18
Recap: Trump and Jones locked in tight quarter-final
In the first of two quarter-finals that played two sessions on Tuesday, Judd Trump found himself in a mighty battle against underdog Jak Jones. The Welshman has reached the World Championship quarter-finals for the second straight year despite showing little form throughout the season and dug in against world No 2 Trump to leave the match finely poised at 8-8.
Jones led 3-1 and 6-4 as Trump struggled to find his rhythm in a compelling, but at times attritional, match although the patience and intensity of the 2019 champion despite not being at his best bodes well. He will need to find further reserves on Wednesday morning when they play to a finish however, with both men needing just five frames for victory.
Lawrence Ostlere1 May 2024 09:15