Kyren Wilson and Jak Jones both mounted sterling comebacks to set up a Northern Ireland Open final which the Warrior will be confident of winning to land an 11th ranking title.
Wilson, who triumphed in Belfast two years ago, won the final three frames to beat fellow Englishman Sam Craigie 6-5 in the semi-finals, while Jones fought back from 4-1 and 5-4 down to oust Welsh compatriot Mark Williams by the same scoreline.
Wilson and Jones have previous, having met six times on the professional tour and three times elsewhere, with the Warrior having won eight of those and all of the last five, including an 18-14 victory in the 2024 World Championship final.
Kyren Wilson v Jak Jones Tips Summary
Best Bet - Match centuries - 3 @ 3/1
Alternative Bet - Total frames 3-Way over 15 @ 6/4
Kyren Wilson v Jak Jones Prediction
Best Bet: Match centuries - 3 @ 3/1
Despite their semi-final heroics neither Wilson nor Jones registered a century in their respective victories, while between them they only recorded one century in their quarter-final wins.
Wilson was responsible for that three-figure break as he thrashed Anthony McGill 6-1 in the last eight, while he made two breaks in the 90s as he edged past Pang Junxu 4-3 in the third round.
Jones last brought up a ton in his second-round victory over John Higgins, recording back-to-back centuries in a 4-2 success against the Scotsman.
All of this suggests that centuries in the final could be scarce, although the 17-frame format does give scope for both cuemen to find their range and compile some big breaks.
There were three match centuries when these two players last met, at the 2025 German Masters, while their hard-fought World Championship final a year earlier saw five breaks in excess of 100, four for Wilson and just the one for Jones.
Three match centuries in Belfast feels about right, while just two match centuries is also on offer at 3/1 and may be a decent alternative.
Alternative Bet: Total frames 3-Way over 15 @ 6/4
Value in the match total frames market appears to lie with backing there to be more than 15 frames and, with Wilson fancied to come out on top, that means the Warrior may have to work hard for the victory.
Wilson has won their last five meetings by an aggregate score of 35-20, but the four most recent have been fairly close after the Englishman dished out a 6-0 whitewash to Jones at the 2021 UK Championship.
Jones is well known to be a doughty fighter who never gives up, but Wilson has the extra class and is not nicknamed the Warrior for no reason and can battle his way over the winning line.
The Englishman has won his last five ranking finals, starting with his 2024 World Championship success against Jones, but two of the last four have gone to final-frame deciders, while Wilson beat Judd Trump 10-8 in the 2024 Xi'an Grand Prix.
Kyren Wilson v Jak Jones H2H Record & Stats
Kyren Wilson | 5 |
Jak Jones | 1 |
Key Match Stats
Kyren Wilson has won eight of his nine previous meetings with Jak Jones
Wilson leads Jones 5-1 in their meetings on the professional circuit
The Warrior won 18-14 against Jones in the 2024 World Championship final
Between them these two players have recorded one century in their last two matches
Wilson has won three of his last four ranking finals by 10-8, 10-9 and 10-9 scorelines
Jones won the British Open earlier this season, beating Mark Selby 10-6, but made no centuries
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
