Mark Allen v Jak Jones live stream | World Snooker Championship 2023 preview
Allen saw his reign come to an end in York (Taka Wu / Alamy Stock Photo)
Mark Allen is targeting only his second World Championship semi-final appearance when he locks horns with debutant Jak Jones.
It promises to be an intriguing last-eight showdown at the Crucible, with the season’s star player taking one of Sheffield’s surprise packages this fortnight.
The runaway leader on this season’s one-year list, Allen arrived in Sheffield having already triumphed at the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix.
Although the Pistol’s standards appeared to have dropped in recent months, he has enjoyed a welcome return to form with commanding victories over former European Masters champion Fan Zhengyi (10-5) and 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham (13-4).
Allen is one of the favourites go all the way and complete snooker’s Triple Crown this year, though it is worth noting he is not in overly familiar territory.
Indeed, this marks only his second quarter-final appearance at the Crucible in 12 years – and fifth overall – while you must go back to 2009 for his sole venture to the one-table setup.
The Antrim ace has won four of his five previous meetings with Jones, though the latter prevailed 5-4 in their most recent encounter at last season’s Turkish Masters.
It has been a debut to remember for the Welshman, who has certainly been intimidated during his maiden voyage at the Crucible.
First, he overcame two-time runner-up and German Masters champion Ali Carter 10-6, before hitting three centuries on the way to a hugely creditable 13-7 victory over 2010 champion Neil Robertson.
While enjoying his best performance of the season, Jones is also the latest Welsh debutant to reach the last eight, following in the footsteps of the likes of Terry Griffiths, Lee Walker and Michael White.
And though the underdog, he will fancy his chances of claiming yet another scalp to continue his fairy-tale run.
The winner of this match will set up a mouth-watering showdown with either Mark Selby or John Higgins in the World Championship semi-finals.
Play gets underway at 10am BST on Tuesday with the opening eight frames, with the following eight commencing from 7pm. The match will then play to a conclusion with a maximum of nine at 10am on Wednesday.
How to watch Mark Allen v Jak Jones live stream
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1) Go to Bet365.com via this special link
2) Register an account, place a £10 first bet and get £30 in Free Bets* (18+ only, T&Cs apply)
3) Once registered, go to the sports homepage and select ‘Snooker’ from the left-hand menu
4) Select the play icon next to the match in progress and the stream window will appear
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The match is also available to watch live at Skybet. To watch, simply:
1) Go to Skybet via this special link
2) Register an account (18+)
3) Get £30 in Free Bets when you place ANY first bet*
4) Go to the Snooker menu and select ‘Watch Live’ next to the match in progress
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