Jak Jones continued to build his reputation as a Crucible specialist as he beat Zhang Anda 10-4 in the opening round of the Cazoo World Championship.
Welshman Jones was hugely impressive on his debut last year, knocking out Ali Carter and Neil Robertson before losing narrowly to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals. The 30-year-old's calm temperament makes him well suited to snooker's biggest tournament and again he handled the occasion with composure, outplaying Zhang as he booked a second round meeting with Mark Williams or Si Jiahui.
China's Zhang has been one of the season's star players, winning his first ranking title at the International Championship and reaching two other finals, but his form has dipped in recent weeks. Appearing at the Crucible as a top 16 seed for the first time, the world number 11 managed just one break over 50.
Jones built a 5-2 lead in Saturday's opening session with top breaks of 55, 75 and 58. He dominated the opening frame today to extend his advantage, then got the better of an exchange on the colours in frame nine, potting blue and pink for 7-2. Zhang took the tenth but crucially lost the next on the colours again, Jones converting excellent pots on yellow, green and brown. He added the 12th with runs of 47 and 29 for 9-3.
A break of 95, his only highlight of the day, allowed Zhang to add one more to his tally, before Jones wrapped up the tie with 36 and 35 in frame 14.
"It wasn't a pretty match, but it feels good to win," said world number 44 Jones, who beat Jamie Clarke and Zhou Yuelong in the qualifying rounds. "Zhang was the seed but he hadn't played here for a few years so it was tough for him too. We were both nervous and when you miss balls it gets on top of you. I wasn't killing off frames in one visit, I played some careless shots. So I need to improve that. The table is fast and reactive which takes time to get used to. I like the longer matches because it gives you time to settle down."
As for his last 16 tie, Jones added: "Mark Williams is one of the best players ever, and Si was brilliant here last year. So either way it will be very tough."