Ronnie O ‘Sullivan was very impressed by Jak Jones, allowing the Welshman to collect silverware and enjoy a significant rise in the world rankings.
The Rocket is not playing in the Welsh Open this week but was on Eurosport keeping a close eye on the action in Llandudno.
The world number one looked on Jones as he impressively defeated Hossein Vafaeid 4-2 in 32 games, beating the 30-year-old a few years ago.
Jones made his World Cup debut last year, beating Neil Robertson to reach the quarter-finals, and although he has yet to go further than that, the Rocket believes the world No.43 can.
“I really appreciate Jak Jones, I think he’s an amazing player, kind of like Ali Carter, just good at everything. Well done, too,” said O’Sullivan.
“Of all the Jokers people tend to dislike, I chose Jak Jones. I think he’ll win a tournament one day.”
O’Sullivan played Jones at this season’s International Championship and won a tough 6-4 as the Welshman had breaks of 130, 83, 77 and 53.
” He was one of my toughest matches this season,” said the seven-time world champion.- I played with him in China, I played well and he was better than me. I ended up winning the match, but it was the first time I played him and thought, “I like this guy. I really, really like this guy.”
“I don’t want to spoil him, just how he plays, how he played. In the World Cups I experienced playing with him and watching him closely today.
“He’s growing, he’s gaining confidence. He is a solid top 16 player. If he’s going to win one, I think he’s going to win a few because he’s a bit of a hot guy and he’s not quiet. If he wins one, he’ll want more.”
Whether the Rockets mocked him or not, Jones returned to play in his 16th Thursday night with a 4-0 win over veteran Dominic Dale.
The 52-year-old had a great day in Wales. He also beat teenage talent Stan Moody in the afternoon, making it two wins to seal a place in the quarter-finals.
Moody is one of the brightest young talents in the game but struggled to find his best form against Dale. O’Sullivan said he had to learn to deal with different pressures
“It’s hard to judge someone by one performance, but if you look some player, you think the pressure yes, but the pressures are different,” he said.
“He’s under the radar, young man, nothing to lose…sweet. Then when he’s at the table and it’s expected to win, it’s a different kind of pressure. Some players are good strikers, you have to be able to play under pressure.
“There’s no one type of pressure and if you can’t handle all the pressures, you’ll find out eventually. I think that’s what happened to him today.
“I think he just froze. She just looked scared, she didn’t look like her…some of the pots she set up, you’d think she was going to wet herself, but then she missed. It’s okay if you get up and then you potty, you think he’s just getting ready, but then he misses and you wonder if there’s still something in him?.
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