JONES KEEPS PACE WITH BINGHAM

Jak Jones recovered from 6-4 down to finish all square at 8-8 after the second session of his Cazoo World Championship semi-final against Stuart Bingham. For the first time since 2007, both semi-finals at the Crucible are tied at 8-8 at the half-way stage.

Champion in 2015, Bingham is looking to reach the final for the second time and hopes to become only the seventh player to lift the trophy on multiple occasions at the Crucible. Welshman Jones, the world number 44, is playing in his first Sheffield semi-final and is looking to become the lowest ranked finalist since Shaun Murphy, then 48th, won the title in 2005.

Bingham made a strong start to the session as breaks of 79 and 107 put him 6-4 ahead. Jones got the better of a scrappy 11th frame, then in the 12th Bingham had first chance but made just 9 before over-cutting the black to a top corner, and his opponent punished him with 67 for 6-6.

After the interval, Jones edged ahead with a break of 68, and he almost snatched frame 14 from 65-4 behind, but got only two of the three snookers he needed and Basildon's Bingham eventually potted the brown for 7-7. A run of 69 saw Jones regain the lead at 8-7. In the last of the session, world number 29 Bingham led 61-0 when he missed the blue off its spot, and Jones clawed his way back into the frame, only for Bingham to pot the last red and the yellow to restore parity.

Then return at 10am on Saturday for eight more frames, ahead of the concluding session at 7pm. First to 17 goes through to the final to meet Kyren Wilson or David Gilbert.