World Snooker Championship 2024: Qualifier Jak Jones defeats 11th seed Zhang Anda

Qualifier Jak Jones brushed aside number 11 seed Zhang Anda 10-4 to become the second player to book a place in the last 16 of the 2024 World Snooker Championship.

A largely slow and scrappy affair, Welshman Jones - who won two preliminary matches to reach the Crucible for a second successive appearance - made breaks of 55, 75 and 58 as he led 5-2 at the end of the first session that was cut two frames early.

On resumption the following morning, the 30-year-old claimed frames eight and nine to take firm control at 7-2 up.

Top 16 star Zhang registered runs of 39 and 41 to pull one back, but having seen his opponent break down on an effort of 60 earlier in frame 11, the Chinese cueist somewhat bizarrely refused a freeball opportunity when he had a good opportunity of reducing his arrears further. Jones eventually punished him for that decision, taking the frame and the next to move onto the hill at 9-3 up.

Jones looked set to wrap up the match in frame 13, but he missed, and Zhang stepped in with a 95 clearance - his first half century break of the entire match. It would prove to be only a minor inconvenience for Jones, though, who secured progression with the next.

Last year on his Crucible debut, world number 44 Jones eliminated seeds Ali Carter and Neil Robertson before bowing out to Mark Allen 13-10 in the quarter-finals having led in the final session. He remains on course for another memorable run this year; he’ll face either Mark Williams or Si Jiahui in the last 16 next week.

Zhang’s breakthrough year ends on a sour note. Having sensationally reached three ranking event finals this season out of the blue - winning the International Championship in his homeland - the Chinese cueist entered the world’s elite top 16 for the first time and was a maiden Crucible seed. His fourth trip there (first since 2016), Zhang is still looking for his first match win in the hallowed arena.