Jones edges Brown to reach Championship League last 32 after dramatic finale

World Championship runner-up Jak Jones finished his day unbeaten at the Championship League in Leicester as Jordan Brown agonisingly missed out on the last 32 of the season’s first ranking event.

With both men level on four points and frame difference heading for the final match of the day in Group 8, Jones won the first two frames 2-0 with breaks of 72 and 61 only for former Welsh Open winner Brown to level at 2-2 with runs of 54 and 87.

With Jones making the highest break of the section with an 88 in a 3-1 win over Bulcsu Revesz earlier on Monday, Brown needed an 89 to deny Jones, but came up two points short as his opponent became the seventh Welshman to reach the second group stage.

Brown had earlier completed a 3-1 win over Revesz with both players drawing 2-2 with Antoni Kowalski to set up the group decider.

Elsewhere on Monday, Northern Irish teenager Robbie McGuigan edged Barry Pinches and Sanderson Lam on frame difference despite losing 3-1 to Norwich cueman Pinches in the final match of Group 7.

Pinches defeated local favourite Tom Ford 3-1 before Ford withdrew from the event due to medical reasons, but a 3-1 loss to Sanderson Lam ultimately buried Pinches’ hopes with McGuigan also defeating Lam 3-0.

McGuigan finished a frame better off than Pinches on six points and two frames above Lam.

Ricky Walden takes to the table on Tuesday in Group 24 at the Mattioli Arena.

There is £33,000 on the table for the winner plus a spot in the Champion of Champions later in the year which is worth another £12,500 for qualifying.