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Jones feels he has arrived as a main tour professional
JAMIE Jones believes he has finally arrived as a professional snooker player after two attempts to establish himself on the Main Tour.
The former European Under-19 and Welsh Under-21 champion puts it down to the regular weekends of action at the Players Tour Championships, an event where he will compete in the finals next March after landing a place in Order of Merit top 24.
Neath-based Jones, 22, is just two matches away from getting on TV for the first time after winning his first two matches in this weekend's UK Championships qualifiers.
He scored a 9-4 win over Irishman Dermot McClinchey in the opening round and beat England's Joe Jogia 9-6 at Sheffield's Snooker Academy on Thursday night.
Now he steps into the unknown tomorrow (Sunday) with a first ever match against ex-British Open champion Fergal O'Brien.
If he can hold his form through that, he plays Dartford ace Barry Hawkins, current world number 24, for a place in the UK Championships final stages at Telford next month and his time in front of the BBC cameras.
Jones' season has been so good that he has not only qualified for that PTC final in Dublin but also risen rapidly up the ranking list.
"I played consistently well throughout the 12 PTC events so I honestly believe I deserve to be there," said the man who, as a 14-year-old, beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in an exhibition in Swansea.
"I started this season just hoping to stay on the Main Tour, because I have been on and off it twice, but then I thought I could get into the top 64.
"Now, although I'm not one to look at the rankings too closely, I could be in the top 48 which is a bit of a dream for me."
It also secures Jones' place on the Main Tour next season so that the pressure of survival is off.
"I feel like a snooker player for the first time in a long time," he added. "When I was on the Main Tour twice before, there were only six or seven tournaments which, if I was knocked out in the qualifiers, meant hanging around for a month for the next one.
"I didn't feel like a player then but now the PTCs have sharpened me up for the later part of the season."
Source - http://www.thesnookerblog.com/2010/1...-professional/
The former European Under-19 and Welsh Under-21 champion puts it down to the regular weekends of action at the Players Tour Championships, an event where he will compete in the finals next March after landing a place in Order of Merit top 24.
Neath-based Jones, 22, is just two matches away from getting on TV for the first time after winning his first two matches in this weekend's UK Championships qualifiers.
He scored a 9-4 win over Irishman Dermot McClinchey in the opening round and beat England's Joe Jogia 9-6 at Sheffield's Snooker Academy on Thursday night.
Now he steps into the unknown tomorrow (Sunday) with a first ever match against ex-British Open champion Fergal O'Brien.
If he can hold his form through that, he plays Dartford ace Barry Hawkins, current world number 24, for a place in the UK Championships final stages at Telford next month and his time in front of the BBC cameras.
Jones' season has been so good that he has not only qualified for that PTC final in Dublin but also risen rapidly up the ranking list.
"I played consistently well throughout the 12 PTC events so I honestly believe I deserve to be there," said the man who, as a 14-year-old, beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in an exhibition in Swansea.
"I started this season just hoping to stay on the Main Tour, because I have been on and off it twice, but then I thought I could get into the top 64.
"Now, although I'm not one to look at the rankings too closely, I could be in the top 48 which is a bit of a dream for me."
It also secures Jones' place on the Main Tour next season so that the pressure of survival is off.
"I feel like a snooker player for the first time in a long time," he added. "When I was on the Main Tour twice before, there were only six or seven tournaments which, if I was knocked out in the qualifiers, meant hanging around for a month for the next one.
"I didn't feel like a player then but now the PTCs have sharpened me up for the later part of the season."
Source - http://www.thesnookerblog.com/2010/1...-professional/