EXCLUSIVE: World Championship star Jak Jones consulted Scottish snooker legend Stephen Hendry after being accused of slow play during the 2024 tournament
Jak Jones admits he needs to stop listening to “social media clowns” who have criticised his style of play.
The Welshman was a shock finalist at the World Championship 12 months ago after coming through qualifying. He defeated former world champions Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham before losing 18-14 to Kyren Wilson in the final.
Trump referred to Jones’ alleged slow play after his quarter-final defeat, although he didn’t blame it for the result. The most stinging criticisms came on social media, but a chat with seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry reassured him about his game.
“As a professional player, there are certain people’s opinions I value and there’s other people’s opinion that I don’t value,” said Jones in an interview for Reach’s special World Championship publication, which is available to order now.
“Social media is a different kettle of fish. You get a lot of strange people, people gambling and losing a lot of money on it.
“I’ve had a name in the past of being quite slow. That’s not my natural game and it (the criticism) has bothered me. If it was something I did in practice, it wouldn’t bother me so much.
“During the Worlds, I was averaging around 28 seconds [per shot]. If you look at the shot times of other players on tour, it’s pretty average.”
On Hendry’s feedback, he added: “People like Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, I value the opinion of people like that.
“I asked Stephen quite a few questions about my game and got good feedback. That was good enough for me.
“I was probably getting called slow from how I was previously. So I asked Stephen Hendry, ‘Do you think I’m slow?’
“He said, ‘Not at all’. I think he used a work like ‘deliberate’. I don’t mind advice from people like that. Listening to these clowns on social media, it’s not helpful.”
Jones faces arguably the toughest possible start for a seed after being paired with dangerous Chinese qualifier Zhao Xintong, with the match beginning on Sunday.
The former UK champion is playing under amateur status after returning from a 20-month ban following an investigation into match-fixing. Zhao will return to the World Snooker Tour next season.