Former Crucible king Neil Robertson will miss out on the Theatre of Dreams for the first time in 20 years as he lost 10-9 to Jamie Jones in the final qualifying round of the Cazoo World Championship.
Robertson, who lifted the trophy in 2010, was the best player in the world two years ago, but has since lost form and dropped out of the top 16. A run to the semi-finals of the recent World Open gave him momentum going into the qualifying rounds and he hammered Zak Surety 10-2 in the penultimate round, but came off second best in an epic battle with Jones. It will be the first time since 2004 that Robertson is not among the 32 players at the Crucible.
The Australian wrote on X: "Well that hurts. Fair play to Jamie though from 8-5 up I barely had a chance, he played brilliant. Tough season all round and some time off needed for sure. Thanks everyone for the continued support I’ll be back much stronger next season I can guarantee that."
Jones, age 36, showed his fighting spirit from 8-5 down and made a crucial break in the deciding frame. A quarter-finalist on his debut in 2012, he is set for his sixth Crucible appearance and the world number 41 will be one of six Welshmen in the field.
Robertson came from 2-0 down to lead 4-3 with top breaks of 103 and 104, making him the sixth player to make 100 centuries in the World Championship. Jones took the next two before Robertson reeled off four in a row with 59, 79, 67 and 59 to go 8-5 ahead. Back came Jones with 101 and 73 as he recovered to 8-8.
A superb pot on the last red helped Robertson take frame 17 to edge ahead, but he barely had a chance in the last two frames. Jones dominated the 18th, then started the decider with a run of 60 which proved enough to score his first win over Robertson in eight meetings.
Jones said: "The long matches in this tournament suit me, my style of play is never to give up. At 8-5 I went to the practice room and I was thinking if I can come out and hit him early I still have a chance. It was such a tough game. It's one of my best ever wins especially because Neil has buried me every time I have played him. I love the way the top players play - I can do that in practice but I don't do it enough in tournaments. But up against someone like Neil I know I have to play like that."
Si Jiahui reached the semi-finals at the Crucible last year before a narrow 17-15 defeat against Luca Brecel, and earned his return by winning ten consecutive frames in a Chinese derby against Wu Yize. Si trailed 4-0 early on but recovered to win 10-4 with top breaks of 110, 59, 112, 82 and 73.
Charismatic cueman Hossein Vafaei booked his third consecutive appearance as he came from 3-0 down to beat Jiang Jun 10-5 with a top break of 120. The Iranian said: "At he start of the match I felt it was the worst performance I have ever had in my life. I went to wash my face and woke up, and after that I played well. Jiang is an unbelievable potter, he's really talented. You have to put the cue ball in your pocket to stop him potting! I love playing in the big events with big crowds, being the centre of attention. Hopefully I can show a good performance."
Jackson Page made a fantastic break of 107 in the deciding frame to beat Noppon Saengkham 10-9. Welsh 22-year-old Page reached the semi-finals of the recent World Open and has kept his momentum going by earning a second trip to the Crucible. On his debut in 2022 he beat Barry Hawkins in the opening round before losing to mentor Mark Williams.
Ryan Day led Scott Donaldson 7-2, then lost six frames in a row, but eventually won 10-9 by taking a 48-minute decider on the colours. Three-time quarter-finalist Day is now heading to the Crucible for the 15th time. "It was very nervy from 7-7," admitted Day. "Both of us were in Shredsville."
David Gilbert, a semi-finalist in 2019, secured a tenth Crucible appearance with a 10-6 victory over Xiao Guodong. China's Pang Junxu came from 8-6 down to beat Cao Yupeng 10-8.
Joe O'Connor was the last player through after winning a marathon eight hour and 52 minute clash with Matthew Selt 10-8. The match winning frame was the second longest of all time at one hour and 50 minutes, but it was Leicester's O'Connor who clinced it to become the only debutant in this year's draw.