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World Championship final LIVE: Wilson maintains lead over Jones

Brad Ferguson, Anthony Paphitis
Updated
Kyren Wilson and Jak Jones pose for a photo with referee Paul Collier and the Cazoo World Snooker Championship trophy
Kyren Wilson and Jak Jones pose for a photo with referee Paul Collier and the Cazoo World Snooker Championship trophyAFP
Kyren Wilson is closing on the World Snooker Championship title by maintaining his five-frame, 15-10 lead over Jak Jones at the Crucible.

Follow all the action from the Crucible as it happens with Flashscore.

Wilson etched his name in Crucible history by crafting a 129 clearance in the first frame.

This marks the first century break in a Crucible final's opening frame since Stephen Hendry's legendary 136 against Jimmy White in 1993.

The Englishman continued his masterful display with additional breaks of 52, 66, 62, 90, and another century break - racing into a 7-0 lead against little resistance in the opening session.

It left Jones, competing in his first-ever ranking final, facing more than an uphill task to get back into the match.

Despite the mounting pressure, the Welshman showed glimpses of his talent with a well-deserved 65 break in the final frame.

Jones continued that into the second session by notching two more frames before Wilson responded with another 129 clearance to make it 8-3.

He added another before they exchanged frames before a strong final run from Jones saw him win two of the last three to end the day trailing 11-6.

In the third session on Monday, Jones twice cut the gap to three frames at 11-8 and 13-10, but saw his efforts cancelled out by Wilson on both occasions.

Wilson now needs just three frames to claim his first world title with 10 frames remaining.

The evening session gets underway later from 19:00 BST.

Preview

It's the second World Championship final for England's Wilson, having previously lost 18-8 to Ronnie O’Sullivan in his only other appearance in the showpiece match at back in 2020.

Wilson dominated David Gilbert 17-11 in Saturday's semi-final, and the 32-year-old is determined to maintain his strong form in order to capitalise on the biggest opportunity of his career so far.

"Coming into this event, I didn't have the best of seasons and then all of a sudden everybody is saying I'm the favourite and I've got to handle that pressure," Wilson told the BBC after his semi-final win.

"I'm quite aware of that but Dave had every right to be beating me as well.

"If you keep yourself in a positive mental frame at mind you give yourself a chance of performing.

"I feel I can handle whatever is thrown my way, whether it is a tough gruelling safety battle, a long pot or break building."

Underdog Jones, meanwhile, stunned a fancied Stuart Bingham on Saturday evening in the second semi, winning 17-12 after a composed performance.

"When I think of watching the World Championship final every year, thinking it's a dream and what an unbelievable occasion it is, it doesn't really feel real that I'm in that World final," Jones told the BBC.

"But I am - and I couldn't be any happier."

"I don't think I'm playing well - I'm just winning. I'm not doing anything exceptional at all - I'm not scoring heavy really - I'm making 60s or 70s but I'm not doing anything special. If you keep winning those frames, they are big and they hurt your opponent."

The action is underway in Sheffield, with the climax set for Monday as the best-of-35 contest reaches its conclusion.

A win for Wilson would lift him to third in the world rankings, while Jones would jump from 44th to sixth.

A £500,000 top prize is available to the eventual winner.

Follow all the action from the Crucible as it happens with Flashscore.

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