Jak Jones hopes to build on his amazing Crucible run by capturing his first title, and he's just three wins away having beaten Luca Brecel 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Unibet British Open.
Jones stepped into the limelight with a tremendous performance at the World Championship five months ago, finishing runner-up to Kyren Wilson. With added expectation on his shoulders this season, he has started strongly, reaching the last 16 at the Xi'an Grand Prix and now going one step further this week in Cheltenham. Breaks of 128 and 77 helped him to an impressive win over 2023 Crucible king Brecel.
"It's a big win to beat Luca," said Jones, who will meet Oliver Lines in the last eight on Friday. "Getting to the final in Sheffield gave me a lot of confidence and extra belief in myself. There has been more pressure as well, but that's part of the game. My season has been good so far, apart from losing in the first round in Saudi against Jack Lisowski as that was such a big event, but he's a great player and it was a tough draw. I feel I'm making up for that this week.
"I'm definitely a better player than I was a year ago. I'm not sure why, I think it's just the belief that no matter how I am feeling I can still beat anyone. Before I thought I could only beat the top players if I felt amazing on the day, but it's not really like that. My main goal now is to win my first title."
Lines reached the third ranking event quarter-final of his career with a 4-1 win over fellow Yorkshireman Stan Moody. Lines, who top scored with 60 and 70, will have the chance to reach his first semi-final.
Judd Trump remains on course for a third title of the season, having already landed the Shanghai Masters and Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. Runs of 69 and 78 helped him to a 4-2 success against Stephen Maguire. He will now meet Mark Allen, who beat Chris Wakelin 4-3, potting blue and pink to win the decider at 1.30am.
John Higgins, targeting a first ranking title since the 2021 Players Championship, ended the run of Rory Thor, who had knocked out Mark Williams and Neil Robertson. Breaks of 67 and 55 helped Higgins to a 4-0 success. "I will have to play better because there are some great players left in it. I would just love to win another tournament," he said.
The Scot's next opponent is Elliot Slessor, who scored an excellent 4-2 win over World Champion Kyren Wilson with a top break of 128.
Mark Selby enjoyed a 4-3 victory over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, compiling breaks of 110 and 115. He'll now meet David Gilbert, who edged out Lyu Haotian 4-3, taking the last two frames with breaks of 70 and 65.