LUCKY Jak Jones has squeezed into the Crucible thanks to less than £6,000 in prize money.
Last year the Welsh potter made a stunning run to the World Snooker Championship final – as a qualifier – where he was .
The Silent Assassin almost missed out on the top 16 this time and was on the verge of having to prepare for two rounds of qualifying once again.
However, Chinese cueist ’s 10-8 quarter-final defeat to compatriot in the has finalised the seeding pots for this month’s marquee event.
And Jones, 31, has jumped ahead of Newcastle’s Gary Wilson by just £5,900 on the world rankings list – it will be the first time he will have a seeded number against his name.
Seven-time world champion is seeded fourth at present.
But the Rocket, 49, has not played a competitive match since snapping his cue in anger at a low-key event in Leicester in January.
Qualifying rounds for the Worlds run between April 7-16 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The tournament starts on Easter Saturday with defending champion Wilson attempting to do what no man has done before – break the Crucible Curse.
The Kettering cuer leads the seeds ahead of World No 1 .
Four-time Crucible king Mark Selby, 41, is third on the list.
And O'Sullivan is top of the three Class of '92 legends – with fifth and sixth.
Should the Rocket, or anyone else, withdraw, then England's World No 17 Gary Wilson is the player waiting in the wings.
The tournament at the compact but iconic Sheffield theatre runs from April 19 to May 5.
