The UK Snooker Championship 2023

UK Championship victory would 'change my life forever' says Jamie Jones

Jamie Jones is a Welsh snooker player who is ranked 45th in the world. He is yet to win a professional title but enjoyed runs to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in 2016 and the World Championship in 2012.

After a slow start to this season, the Welshman beat both Jiang Jun and Zac Surety 6-4 in the UK Championship qualifying stages. Jones has discussed his campaign so far, his chances in York this year, and what the Triple Crown events mean to him.

Congratulations on qualifying, how was this experience?

The experience is always tense in the Worlds and the UK, you feel a different tension in the air it seems to mean a little more to the players, with the events being covered on BBC and Eurosport.

There was a lot of pressure, there's players at the top of the game trying to get into the top 16 again and then there’s also players at the bottom of the tour that are playing for tour survival.

Is there more pressure on the qualifying stages compared to the tournament itself? 

The most pressure I felt was in the first round, once you get that game under your belt a little bit of tension can release, it's not a disaster now if I do lose. 

The further you go on, the pressure tends to build because you realise something special could be happening but at the same time it’s sort of released because you’ve got these points in the bag.

For the players who have gone through qualifying does this bit of form give you confidence compared to the top 16? 

I think so, my season hasn’t really kicked off, I’ve lost as many matches as I’ve won, I’ve had a few doubts within my game. But just having won two pressurised matches, you’ve backed up your decisions, that little bit of confidence that gives you is so important. 

Whereas the top 16 are great snooker players but they’re only human they will need to win that first match for their own peace of mind.

When you are looking at the draw, who are you looking to avoid?

You definitely want to avoid the form players. Trump's playing very well, Mark Allen’s just won, but they’re all the best players in the world so you’re sort of nitpicking. 

It’s the more experienced guys maybe you want to avoid because they've been there and done it so many times, I only play on TV two, three, four times a season so they’re naturally going to be a bit more comfortable in that environment. 

What are your personal experiences of the Triple Crown events, particularly during your runs to the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2016

The importance of them is just there, when you walk around York at Christmas time you can feel there is a really important event. Sheffield in April and May - you can feel snooker within the city. You can feel that you’re in a special environment whereas other tournaments I don't feel that as much. 

If I was to win next week, it would change my life forever. I would be on the biggest trophy, forever with the greats of the game. I grew up watching Ronnie O'Sullivan and Hendry and all these people that I idolise and to have my name on the trophy it would just be unbelievable.

Do you think new tournaments emerging in Asia with big prize money are a threat to the legacy of the English tournaments or do you think their history will always make them stand out?

We've been in China twice in the last month and the way the players are treated over there, the way the tournaments are run, it's unbelievable. We're treated like superstars.

For lower ranked players, if they're earning fifty, sixty grand a year, if that's going to double by them going to China, I'm sure all the players would be like, we've got families and mortgages, this is where we need to go.

It would be a shame because when I was a kid, I thought if I ever walk out at the Crucible once, that would be my dream. If I was to walk out in a stadium in China, even if it was, 2 million quid for the winner, I don’t know if I would feel the same. 

You've shared your passion for running. Do you find that helps you with your snooker and at tournaments? 

Oh, definitely. You've got the best part of six hours where you're hanging around. So if you do like to do a bit of running, that's two hours of them six taken up. It's a great way to de-stress. Then that releases the endorphins, the feel-good emotions.

It's helped me brilliantly, and obviously it was really cool to be running in China with Ronnie as well. It's like walking down the street with Tom Cruise. He is just another player to me these days, but when I was a kid he was my hero.

Jones begins his campaign on 27 November and will face top-16 player Jack Lisowski in the first round.