I won £200k almost causing one of snooker's greatest shocks - the money hasn't changed my life one bit
Jak Jones shocked the snooker world by making it to the final of the World Championships last year.
The unfancied Welshman was ranked as No.44 in snooker's world rankings when he made it to the Crucible showcase last May, becoming the lowest ranked finalist since Shaun Murphy almost two decades earlier. There was no fairy tale ending for Jones however, although he did pocket £200,000 after his 18-14 defeat to Kyren Wilson - and he now says that the cash hasn't changed his life, and revealed that he hasn't followed the likes of Judd Trump in splashing out on a supercar.
Speaking to BBC Wales the 31-year-old said: "A lot of people think I won a lot more than I did. With the tax you have to pay it doesn't get you very far these days. So it absolutely hasn't changed my life one bit. I suppose I could get my parents a couple of holidays that I wasn't able to do before. But I haven't got a new car and I haven't got a new house - although we are looking at one.
"My wife and I are expecting our first baby, a boy, so the money will help with that. I've been through a lot of tough times on the tour where I struggled financially, and my parents struggled to support me. So I'm not someone who was going to splash money around as soon as I got it. It was more security, trying to set myself up to be in a better position for the future."
Although home glory in Llandudno would be a dream come true for Jones, he believes he can cause a shock again on the sport's biggest stage later in the year - and would love to be known as a specialist in just the one tournament. The Silent Assassin added: "It probably sounds crazy, but I feel more confident winning the World Championship than any tournament on the tour.
"The longer formats like the World suit me down to the ground. And what happened last year has given me the belief I'm a top player, and I deserve to be at the top. Maybe I'm saving it all for the World Championship - a one-tournament wonder."
