Jones promises more to come

Jamie Jones has gone from pulling pints in his local snooker club to being a Crucible hero after knocking out Shaun Murphy.

The 24-year-old from the village of Cimla near Neath worked seven-hour shifts after putting in six-hour practice stints, but he put that behind him three years ago to dedicate himself to life on the professional tour.

And now Jones has followed the example of fellow Welshmen Terry Griffiths and Mark Williams by winning on his Crucible debut and causing the biggest shock so far at the World Championship. Former postman Griffiths of course went all the way on his first appearance in 1979, while Williams has gone on to win two world titles.

Jones has a long way to go to match either man's achievements, but he promised there was plenty more to come after beating world number five Murphy, the 2005 world champion, 10-8.

Jones said: "I've never felt any pressure like it in my life. I've never known an occasion like it.

"For my Crucible debut I think I played pretty well. That's definitely not my best though. I can play better than that.

"I was just going out to enjoy the experience but to come out a winner is fantastic.

"Everyone in the village where I live has been watching on TV and my phone hasn't stopped going since I left the table. It'll be like a circus at home."

Jones raised eyebrows with a 10-2 victory over world number 15 Ricky Walden in the final World Championship qualifying round, and he also beat reigning Crucible champion John Higgins at the PTC Finals in Galway last month.

Next for him is a second-round clash with Andrew Higginson or Stephen Lee.

Jones celebrated a little prematurely, and exuberantly, in the final frame before potting the white to cast some doubt over the victory.

"The red went in, I jumped up and almost hit the ceiling, and gave it the fist. Then I potted the brown and went in-off, and I thought, 'Oh my god, there can't be another twist'," Jones said.

"Then I had a chance on a red and as soon as I potted that and made sure of the blue I knew it was over then.

"It wasn't planned. It wasn't like, 'If I pot this I'm going to go mental'.

"When it went in, emotion came over me. It probably looked a bit naughty to Shaun, but I couldn't help it."

Murphy said: "It's certainly not how I saw the tournament going. I thought Jamie held himself together really well and he didn't play like a debutant."

Ronnie O'Sullivan turned the most keenly-anticipated first-round match into a procession as he surged 7-2 ahead of Peter Ebdon.

Seven years have passed since Ebdon came from 8-2 behind to defeat O'Sullivan 13-11 in the quarter-finals, staging his fightback on a famous night when his slow play drew criticism.

Ebdon this time came to Sheffield as an in-form player, having won the China Open at the start of April.

He has lost weight on a strict vegan diet, and is physically fit to last the distance in Sheffield, but his game was no match for a hungry O'Sullivan.

The only real drama in the session came in the opening frame. Ebdon took 40 seconds deliberating over his first shot, offering a reminder of how pedestrian his play was in their 2005 clash.

The frame could then have gone either way. O'Sullivan had a clear opening when he potted pink and could have added the black, although it was awkward. Playing it left-handed, O'Sullivan missed, and Ebdon potted it to force a 64-64 tie, meaning a re-spotted black was required.

Ebdon almost missed the ball entirely. O'Sullivan missed what was a gift of a chance.

Eventually O'Sullivan sank the black, but Ebdon soon levelled up at 1-1.

It was Ebdon's last success until the final frame of the session, with O'Sullivan at times ruthless. There was a century from O'Sullivan in barely five minutes in frame three. In 2005 it took Ebdon as long to make a run of 12.

Ebdon gave himself a glimmer of hope with a run of 90. He will return on Tuesday afternoon needing a comeback on a familiar scale.

Wales' two-time former finalist Matthew Stevens finished off Hong Kong's Marco Fu on Monday night, converting an 8-1 lead from the morning session to a 10-3 victory.

Qualifier Andrew Higginson, from Widnes, made a promising start to his match against world number eight Stephen Lee, edging 5-4 ahead of the Trowbridge potter in a match which concludes on Tuesday.