Cwmbran's Jak Jones is through to the Welsh Open last 32. Pic: Getty Images.

Jones Boys On The March For Wales In Welsh Open

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The Jones boys are flying the snooker flag for Wales at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. 

Reigning World champion Mark Williams crashed out of the ManBetX Welsh Open Championships, while fellow Welshmen Duane Jones and Jake Jones progressed into the third round.  

There are now 32 players battling to progress from the initial 128.

Williams was the last player from Wales to win this the title, in 1999 and the world number two suffered an unexpected 4-2 defeat against Zhang Anda.

“I was rubbish,” said Williams. “He was by far the better player. He cues and scores well so I’m surprised he’s not higher up the rankings.”

Duane Jones, from Mountain Ash, surprisingly defeated in-form Judd Trump 4-2 scoreline in Cardiff.

Trump was fresh from his World Grand Prix triumph in Cheltenham, but he could not find the consistency needed in a patchy performance against his tenacious Welsh opponent.

Duane, ranked 68 places below Trump at 72nd in the World, said: “I didn’t feel nervous, I knew my game was in good shape, I just tried telling myself that.”

Cwmbran’s Jak Jones is also through to the last 32, beating Peter Lines 4-3.

Williams and Trump were joined on the casualty list by German Masters champion Kyren Wilson, who lost 4-3 against Joe O’Connor.

Former champion Mark Selby was a 4-0 winner over Adam Duffy and Ronnie O’Sullivan swept through 4-2 against teenager Yuan Sijun.

Five times world champion built breaks of 120, 66, 90 and 99.

“I don’t look into how I’m playing,” said O’Sullivan, who moved his career century tally to 993. 

“One day is rubbish and I’m a bit more miserable, then the next day is better and I get more of a spring in my step. 

“I’d like to win a couple of more matches here and see how it goes because it feels as if it’s coming pretty easy to me mentally and physically. 

“Last week in Cheltenham I was so happy when I lost. I went to Sheffield for a few days, sat on my boat and did some practice.

“Yuan is a very good player which is great for the game if he can continue on the same trajectory. He has potential to be a World Champion and is going to be a huge star in China.

“It will be interesting to see how he handles that.”

O’Sullivan will now face Alexander Ursenbacher, a 4-1 winner over Zhang Jiankang.

Welsh Open reigning champion John Higgins won 4-2 against Dominic Dale.

Arguably the standout performance of day three saw Chinese star Zhao Xintong’s 4-0 victory against friend Zhou Yuelong. The success was built on breaks of 132, 103, 97, and 70.

Amateur James Cahill defeated Shaun Murphy 4-2 with a top break was 115.

“I like the challenge of playing against top players,” said Cahill. “I had a lot of luck, otherwise I wouldn’t have won.”

Welsh Open third round results

John Higgins 4, Dominic Dale 2

Soheil Vahedi 1, Craig Steadman 4

Jack Lisowski 4, Marco Fu 3

Ken Doherty 1, Sam Craigie 4

Hammad Miah 3, Joe Perry 4

Oliver Lines 3, Ding Junhui 4

Jak Jones 4, Peter Lines 3

Joe O’Connor 4, Kyren Wilson 3

Judd Trump 2, Duane Jones 4

Robbie Williams 4, Anthony Hamilton 1

Stuart Bingham 4, Matthew Selt 1

Martin O’Donnell 4, Ricky Walden 1

Jimmy Robertson 4, Nigel Bond 3

Zhao Xintong 4, Zhou Yuelong 0

Zhang Jiankang 1, Alexander Ursenbacher 4

Yuan SiJun 2, Ronnie O’Sullivan 4

Mark Selby 4, Adam Duffy 9

Xu Si 1, Noppon Saengkham 4

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3, Lukas Kleckers 4

Hossein Vafaei 4, Ross Muir 3

Scott Donaldson 4, Joe Swail 3

James Cahill 4, Shaun Murphy 2

Ian Burns 4, Liang Wenbo 3

Mei Xi Wen 1, Mark Allen 4

Barry Hawkins 4, Ben Woollaston 2

Michael Georgiou 4, Jimmy White 1

Neil Robertson 4, Gary Wilson 1

Thor Chuan Leong 3, Paul S Davison 4

Mike Dunn 4, James Wattana 3

Billy Joe Castle 1, Kurt Maflin 4

Elliot Slessor 4, Tom Ford 0

Zhang Anda 4, Mark Williams 2

Third round matches:

Thursday:

10am

Jack Lisowski v Sam Craigie

Joe Perry v Ding Junhui

Jak Jones v Joe O’Connor

Duane Jones v Robbie Williams

Jimmy Robertson v Zhao Xintong

Lukas Kleckers v Hossein Vafaei

Scott Donaldson v James Cahill

Mike Dunn v Kurt Maflin

1pm 

Stuart Bingham v Martin O’Donnell

Alexander Ursenbacher v Ronnie O’Sullivan

Ian Burns v Mark Allen

Barry Hawkins v Michael Georgiou

Neil Robertson v Paul Davison

Elliot Slessor v Zhang Anda

2.30pm

John Higgins v Craig Steadman

Mark Selby v Noppon Saengkham

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