Jak Jones couldn’t believe Judd Trump’s pace of play at times during their World Snooker Championship quarter-final, with Trump admitting he struggled for rhythm during his shock defeat to the Welshman.
Jones upset the world number two in an impressive 13-9 victory, booking his spot in the Crucible semis for the first time in his career.
It was a well-deserved victory for the world number 44, who out-scored his vastly more decorated opponent as Trump made one century and just two half-centuries.
Typically Trump is a free-flowing, attacking player while Jones is much more methodical and that is how the Welshman expected the match to play out.
However, as the favourite got continually bogged down over the match, Jones was stunned to feel like the roles almost reversed at times.
‘I felt like before the match I was ready to play attacking, try and speed my game up a bit which is not easy for me to do,’ he said. ‘But after I went 3-1 at the interval I thought judd was playing really slow for him, almost like what I’ve done in the past, looking for problems and stuff.
‘He wasn’t the fast-flowing aggressive player that he usually is. I noticed it from the beginning and it kind of surprised me and I took advantage.
‘At times I couldn’t believe how slow he was playing. I think I finished the second session with a faster shot time than him. But it’s obviously just the pressure that does crazy things to you.’
Trump admitted that the pace of the game was not to his liking, struggling to find rhythm and unable to find a way to break out of his slump.
‘I just struggled really. I had chances,’ he said. ‘It was a little bit slower than I would have liked. I couldn’t get rhythm. Every time I came to the table, it felt like I had been ages and I wasn’t able to get into that flow. It was like starting again every single time I came to the table.
‘Maybe I should have been more attacking in the first couple of sessions. Maybe I played it into his hands. I was slower than I would have liked. You just need to learn from it.
‘I felt like I had a lot of chances – I just didn’t take them. I had more than enough chances today to win so I only have myself to blame.
‘A lot of the frames were quite slow. It’s something I should know by now, to control the speed of the game. I got bogged down.
‘His pace definitely affected me. But that’s not his fault. I just needed to get in and clear up every time. I didn’t do that. If you are potting balls then it doesn’t matter how quick your opponent is playing.’
Trump has had a magnificent season, winning five ranking titles, and with Ronnie O’Sullivan in the same half of the draw it was widely expected that the two would meet in the semi-finals.
Jones has put an end to that and felt that maybe the pressure of expectation got to his opponent.
‘I’m sorry to disappoint a lot of people,’ he said. ‘I know people were expecting Ronnie and Judd after the seasons they’ve both had but the Crucible is a totally different tournament and maybe that’s what it was with Judd the pressure showed in the end.’
Jones reached the quarter-finals on his Crucible debut last year and is now into just the second semi-final of his career after another fine run in Sheffield.
‘I thought it was the longer format which obviously helps but obviously it’s just a completely different tournament,’ he said of his Crucible expertise.
‘I’m used to playing behind closed doors in qualifiers in the middle of nowhere and it’s a lot easier to get up for something like this than that. I just feel up for it.’
MORE : Judd Trump says Jak Jones did him a favour with shock Crucible defeat
MORE : Jak Jones upsets Judd Trump in huge World Snooker Championship shock
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