It was a mixed week for Welsh snooker players at the World Championships, as Mark Williams showed his enduring class to go through but last year’s finalist Jak Jones was beaten.

In the second match of the tournament proper, Jones faced Chinese snooker player Zhao Xintong, losing 4-10 to the amateur.

Zhao produced arguably the best performance of the first round, leading 7-2 overnight and finishing the match in convincing fashion the next morning.

The 28-year-old is competing as an amateur in his first World Championship appearance since 2022, having completed a 20-month suspension earlier this season.

The former UK Championship winner was one of 10 players banned in 2023 following an investigation into match-fixing. He did not directly throw a match but accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches, and betting on matches himself.

But he will return to the professional ranks next season and Jones says he expects him to contend in Sheffield.

“Zhao looked really sharp, the qualifiers have done him good, and I’ve had two best-of-sevens in the past 10 weeks or so,” said Jones.

“I kind of felt that out there, I didn’t feel sharp at all. He put me under a lot of pressure, his scoring and long-potting was good and I think he’ll be hard to stop.”

Williams passes test

Three-time World Snooker Champion Mark Williams came through a difficult contest with Wu Yize to win 10-8 and get through to the second round.

The up-and-coming Chinese player led 8-7 at one point, but Williams compiled breaks of 101 and 69 to regain the lead and win the match.

It was a superb performance from Williams in his 70th match at the sport’s most famous venue. Booked in for surgery in June, he has been dogged by eyesight issues in the build-up to the tournament and has been dismissive of his own prospects.

At varying stages he was outplayed by Wu, who scored 1,022 points to his 838 – but found an answer whenever he appeared to be in difficulty.

“It was a tough game all the way through. I think I was 3-0 up and then I didn’t pot a ball for three or four frames. Some of the balls he potted were incredible,” Williams told BBC Sport.

“He’s got the potential to win this tournament, there’s absolutely no question.”

Murphy gives Wells a masterclass

Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy progressed to the second round of the World Championships with a convincing 10-4 victory over Welshman Daniel Wells.

It was a high quality contest, with Wells – who had progressed well through the qualifying stages – scoring a number of 50+ breaks and three centuries.

Unfortunately for Wells, Murphy matched his level and led 7-2 at the end of the day. Wells – who is 49th in the world – rallied overnight and made breaks of 115 and 68 to pull two frames back before Murphy sealed the match.

Ryan Day, the fourth and final Welshman in the tournament proper, is currently playing world number seven Luca Brecel.

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