Jamie Jones (born 14 February 1988) is a Welsh professional
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...
player from
Neath. At age 14, he was the youngest ever player to make a maximum
147 break in competition, a record that has since been beaten by
Judd Trump. At the
2012 World Snooker Championship
The 2012 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2012 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 21 April to 7 May 2012 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 36th co ...
, Jones reached his first ranking quarter-final. He made his second appearance in the quarter-finals of a
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tr ...
tournament at the
2016 UK Championship.
Jones made his first official maximum break in the third frame of his last 64 match against Lee Walker at the
2018 Paul Hunter Classic
The 2018 Paul Hunter Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place in August 2018 at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany. It was the third ranking event of the 2018/2019 season. The tournament is named in honour of forme ...
. It was his first professional maximum break.
In October 2018, Jones was suspended from the snooker tour pending a match fixing investigation.
The match in question was a
2016 International Championship qualifier between former world champion
Graeme Dott and Jones’ good friend and compatriot
David John.
In January 2019, Jones was acquitted of match-fixing following a hearing at which he was represented by sports barrister Craig Harris. However, he admitted to having prior knowledge of an approach to fix the aforementioned match and failed to report it, so was subsequently banned for a year himself.
Whilst his ban finished in October 2019, due to missing out most of the
2018–19 season, he ended the campaign outside of the top 64 and officially dropped off the tour.
Jones officially rejoined the tour two seasons later, coming through the second Q-School event of 2020, defeating
Michael Georgiou
Michael Georgiou (born 18 January 1988) is a British- Cypriot former professional snooker player from Forest Hill. He is a practice partner of Igor Figueiredo and Hammad Miah, who practises at Whetstone Snooker Club.
In 2018, Georgiou won his ...
. He had come close to regaining professional status in Event 1, only losing in the penultimate round to compatriot
Lee Walker
Lee Walker (born 11 February 1976) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who is the reigning World Seniors Champion. He is both an official WPBSA and SightRight coach.
Career
After turning professional in 1994 at the age of 18, Walker ...
, who also went on to gain a tour card.
Career
Early career
In 2002, Jones became the youngest-ever player to make a 147 in an official event, making it aged 14,
a record that has since been beaten by
Judd Trump. Jones began his professional career by playing
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
The ...
in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. He qualified for the Main Tour for 2006/2007 by finishing top of the 2005/06 Welsh rankings, although he could not maintain his place there. His best result in his first season as a professional was to the last 48 of the
Royal London Watches Grand Prix. After another spell on the tour in
2008–09, in which, despite some strong performances, he again fell away, he regained a place for the
2010–11 season.
2010/2011 season
Jones started the new season by winning three qualifying matches in the
Shanghai Masters, beating
Kuldesh Johal
Kuldesh Johal (born 25 September 1980) is an English former professional snooker player. He competed on the main tour during the 2008/2009 and 2010/2011 seasons.
Career
Born in 1980, Johal played in Challenge Tour qualifying events in the ea ...
,
Jimmy Michie
Jimmy Michie (pronounced "Mickey"; born 4 August 1971) is an English former professional snooker player from Pontefract, Yorkshire, and a two-time WPBSA ranking tournament semi-finalist, who has also reached the World Snooker Championship. Mich ...
and
Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell (born 24 August 1972) is an English former professional snooker player from Telford. He has reached the last-16 in four world ranking events (three in Asia, in three different seasons, and at the 2008 Grand Prix), but has yet t ...
before losing to
Stephen Lee. After reaching the final of
Players Tour Championship – Event 5, Jones rose to 47 in the rankings at the end of the season.
2011/2012 season
Jones made it to the quarter-finals of three
Players Tour Championship events, but failed to progress further in any of them. However, his consistent performances meant he finished 23rd in the
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
and therefore qualified for the
2012 PTC Finals, where he reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time by defeating reigning World Champion
John Higgins 4
frames to 3, after being 1–3 down. This set up a match with
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Career
Early years
After some success in amateur tourn ...
, which he lost 3–4. Jones won two qualifying matches to reach the
China Open, but lost 3–5 to
Lu Ning in the wildcard round.
Jones finished the season by qualifying for the
2012 World Championship, beating
Ricky Walden 10–2 in the final qualifying round. He then beat
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
10–8 in the first round, scoring two centuries. In the second round he beat
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Career
Early years
After some success in amateur tourn ...
13–10, included a 135 break in the penultimate frame, to reach his first ever ranking event quarter-final. In the quarter final he was defeated 11–13 by former world number 2
Ali Carter
Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...
, but made back-to-back clearances of 138 and 132 in frames 11 and 12, coming back from 12–8 to 12–11 before eventual runner-up Carter won the match. Jones made seven centuries during the tournament, with only eventual winner
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
making more. Jones finished the season ranked a career high world number 29, meaning he had risen 18 places during the year.
2012/2013 season
Following his superb run in last season's World Championship, Jones endured a difficult
2012–13 season. He could only win three matches in ranking event qualifiers all year, with his sole appearance in the main draw coming at the
Shanghai Masters.
He beat
Jimmy White
James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...
in qualifying and
Lu Ning in the wildcard round, but was then defeated 5–2 by
John Higgins in the first round.
He fared better in the
Players Tour Championship events, with his best result coming at the
Paul Hunter Classic
The Paul Hunter Classic is a non-ranking snooker tournament. It changed from a ranking event to a 16-man invitational event in 2019. From 2010 to 2015 it was part of the Players Tour Championship. Barry Hawkins is the reigning champion. After losi ...
, where he had wins over
Jimmy Robertson,
Jak Jones
Jak Jones (born 29 July 1993) is a Welsh professional snooker player.
Jones was born in Cwmbran, Wales. He became a professional in 2010 at the age of 16, by winning the 2010 European Under 19 Snooker Championship in Malta.
Career Professi ...
and
Li Yan, before losing 4–2 to compatriot
Ryan Day. He finished 67th on the PTC Order of Merit. Jones could not repeat last season's run to
The Crucible as he was beaten 10–9 by
Liam Highfield in the third round of
World Championship Qualifying. His disappointing year was reflected in the rankings as he dropped 11 places to finish world number 40.
2013/2014 season
Jones reached the first round of the
2013 Wuxi Classic
The 2013 Sports Lottery Cup Wuxi Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament held between 17 and 23 June 2013 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first ranking event of the 2013/2014 season.
The tournament ...
, but lost 5–4 to
Liang Wenbo
Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...
. He qualified for five more ranking events but was beaten in the opening round of each.
He had a very good year in the eight minor-ranking
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...
events, losing in the last 16 in two of them. His deepest finish came at the
Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup where he beat
Ian Burns 4–2 in the quarter-finals.
In the semis he was edged out 4–3 by
Judd Trump and finished 15th on the
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
to qualify for the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
for the third time in four years. Jones lost 4–2 to
Mark Allen
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Finn ...
in the first round.
His drop down the rankings continued as he ended the season as the world number 55.
2014/2015 season
At the
2014 Wuxi Classic
The 2014 Sports Lottery Cup Wuxi Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament held between 23 and 29 June 2014 at the Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China. It was the first ranking event of the 2014/2015 season.
Neil Robertson ...
, Jones defeated
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur ...
5–2, before losing 5–3 to
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He ...
in the second round.
He won three matches to qualify for the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-prof ...
and thrashed
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...
5–0, before being the victim of a whitewash in the second round by
Neil Robertson. The next match Jones could win at the venue stage of a ranking event was at the
Welsh Open, 4–0 over
Chris Norbury
Christopher Norbury (born 14 August 1986) is an English former professional snooker player. He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003, at the time the second-level professional tour. Norbury first entered Main Tour for ...
. In the second round he knocked out
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
4–3 and stated that he plays his best snooker in the televised stages of tournaments. In an all-Welsh affair, Jones lost 4–2 to
Mark Williams in the third round. He then reached the last 16 in back-to-back ranking tournaments, losing 4–1 to
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (, ; born 18 April 1985) is a Thai professional snooker player.
He has won one ranking event, the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out, and finished as runner-up in the 2019 World Open. He is regarded as one of the fastest snooker playe ...
at the
Indian Open and 5–3 to Murphy at the
China Open. Jones qualified for his second
World Championship by beating
Adam Duffy
Adam Duffy (born 30 March 1989) is an English professional snooker player.
Duffy qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the third and final Q School event.
Career
Debut season
As a new player on ...
10–8 in the final round.
He suffered a heavy 10–2 loss to
Neil Robertson in the first round. However, Jones halted his slide down the rankings as he climbed 17 spots this season to end it 38th.
2015/2016 season
After edging
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
*Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
5–4 in the opening round of the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-prof ...
, Jones thrashed
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...
5–1 and said that he hoped running during the off-season would give himself a better chance of winning more matches this season. He played friend and former schoolmate
Michael White in the quarter-finals with Jones recovering from 4–2 down to tie the match at 4–4. In the deciding frame White made a break of 56, before missing a red and Jones cleared with a 66 to reach the first ranking semi-final of his career. He raced into a 4–0 lead over
John Higgins, but then lost six frames in a row to exit the tournament. Jones beat
Ian Glover
Ian Glover (born 8 November 1978) is a former professional snooker player from Doncaster. He practises at the Jeff Cundy snooker centre in Scunthorpe and the Sheffield Star Snooker Academy. His practice partners are the club's owner Jeff Cundy, ...
6–4 and
Xiao Guodong
Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships.
Career 2007–2010
Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat ...
6–1 at the
UK Championship and made two centuries against Selby, but lost 6–5 with Selby stating that Jones had deserved to win the match. He played in three more ranking events, but lost in the first round of each and his season was ended with a 10–5 loss to
Hamza Akbar
Hamza Akbar (Urdu:حمزه اكبر ; born 12 November 1993) is a Pakistani professional snooker player who won the 31st Asian Snooker Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015. He is also the Pakistan national champion 2015.
Career ...
in
World Championship qualifying, who had previously lost all eight of his matches on tour.
2016/2017 season
Jones dropped just two frames in reaching the quarter-finals of the
2016 Paul Hunter Classic
The 2016 Paul Hunter Classic was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 and 28 August 2016 at the Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
Named in honour of former ...
, but then lost 4–1 to
Tom Ford.
At the
UK Championship he saw off
Eden Sharav
Eden Sharav ( he, עדן שרב; born 30 April 1992) is an Israeli- Scottish former professional snooker player. He was born in Israel to an Israeli father and a Scottish-born mother.
Career Amateur
In 2010 Sharav reached the final of the Scott ...
6–1 in the first round and then had a trio of 6–2 victories over
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
,
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...
and
David Gilbert to mean he had made two ranking event quarter-finals in the same season for the first time in his career. Jones had a great chance to reach his second semi-final as he led
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He ...
5–2, but he would go on to lose 6–5.
Jones was 4–0 ahead of
Graeme Dott in the final qualifying round for the
World Championship, but was beaten 10–8.
Performance and rankings timeline
Career finals
Minor-ranking finals: 1
Pro-am finals: 4 (2 titles)
Amateur finals: 5 (5 titles)
References
External links
Jamie Jonesat ''worldsnooker.com''
*
Profile on Global Snooker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jamie
Welsh snooker players
1988 births
Living people
Snooker players from Neath