Jak Jones secured a maiden ranking title with a 3-2 victory over David Gilbert in the final of 2026 Championship League Snooker on Wednesday.
Jones twice came from a frame behind to reign at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, where he picked up his first professional piece of silverware.
It had been a disappointing couple of years since he surprised many by reaching the final of the 2024 World Snooker Championship.
There had only been one semi-final and one quarter-final appearance across the last couple of campaigns as he failed to make the step up into the elite.
But now that the Welshman has joined the champion’s enclosure, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact this has going forward.
There weren’t many star names in attendance at the 2026/27 snooker season’s opening tournament, but that won’t matter much to Jones.
Winning breeds confidence, and the 32 year-old now has a foundation to build the rest of his career on.
Jones reached the third and final stage of Championship League Snooker with a record of just three wins out of the six round-robin fixtures that he contested.
However, he added two more victories in his Stage Three group, beating Hossein Vafaei and Dylan Emery either side of a draw with Zhang Anda to safely qualify for the final.
The first frame of the title-deciding showdown went to Gilbert, who scored a 104 break in his quest to win the Championship League Snooker crown for the second time.
The pair then traded 60-plus contributions before Jones forced a deciding frame with a run of 86.
Both players had scoring opportunities in the fifth and deciding frame, but an early effort of 55 proved crucial in seeing Jones get over the winning line.
With £33,000 in total earnings from the event, Jones takes the front in the one-year ranking lists which may lead to qualification for lucrative events later in the campaign.
The World Grand Prix, Players Championship, and Tour Championship lineups are all determined through this avenue.
A return to the Champion of Champions invitational is another potential reward for his early-season efforts.
Wednesday, July 15
Winners’ Group 1 Results
Noppon Saengkham 3-0 Elliot Slessor
David Gilbert 3-1 Lei Peifan
Noppon Saengkham 3-1 Lei Peifan
Elliot Slessor 2-2 David Gilbert
David Gilbert 3-1 Noppon Saengkham
Elliot Slessor 2-2 Lei Peifan
Winners’ Group 1 Table
1. David Gilbert – 7 points
2. Noppon Saengkham – 6 points
3. Elliot Slessor – 2 points
4. Lei Peifan – 1 point
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Winners’ Group 2 Results
Dylan Emery 3-0 Zhang Anda
Jak Jones 3-0 Hossein Vafaei
Hossein Vafaei 3-0 Dylan Emery
Zhang Anda 2-2 Jak Jones
Jak Jones 3-0 Dylan Emery
Zhang Anda 2-2 Hossein Vafaei
Winners’ Group 2 Table
1. Jak Jones – 7 points
2. Hossein Vafaei – 4 points
3. Dylan Emery – 3 points
4. Zhang Anda – 2 points
Championship League Snooker Final
Jak Jones 3-2 David Gilbert
Featured photo credit: WST
