Jack Lisowski finally wrenched a monkey off his back last season and still feels the relief of winning his ranking title on an unforgettable night in October 2025.
Jackpot had been dogged with the tag of ‘best player not to win a ranking title’ for years, losing six finals and competing among the best without lifting silverware.
That all changed at the Northern Ireland Open, though, when he beat the likes of Mark Selby, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Kyren Wilson and Zhou Yuelong to set up a final with close friend and world number one Judd Trump.
It was an emotional time, still just a few months after the sudden and unexpected death of his father, and there was barely a dry eye in the Waterfront Hall as he edged Trump 9-8 to win the tournament.
Lisowski is a relaxed character with seemingly little fazing him and even on that tear-jerking evening he kept himself together.
However, his search for a first title was bothering him, troubling his mind and the relief when he held the Alex Higgins Trophy is still being enjoyed.
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‘It feels like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders, for sure,’ Lisowski told Metro. ‘I was thinking about it most days. It was a big, big hurdle in my life.
‘It was horrible, I didn’t really realise it. We’re human beings, we adapt to things and if it’s stressing me out, I’m going to put it to the back of my head as much as I could, like a coping mechanism.
‘Then to win, I wish I could have done it sooner, but then maybe the way it happened…it was just really special for me.
‘It already feels like a long time ago, but when I stop and think about it every now and then I still get a good feeling.’
Few things seem to unite fans of a sport, but Lisowski’s triumph appeared pretty much unanimously popular across the snooker landscape.
‘It was so perfect the way everything happened,’ he remembers. ‘The way I had to really sweat for it, and, obviously to beat Judd made it more special, in a way, because I had to really earn it.
‘People after were so nice to me, it just all felt a bit surreal, but it was great. Maybe it comes close to when Rob Milkins won the Welsh Open, I remember I was so happy for him, maybe it was like that where the underdog wins, I guess.
‘Like I said, I was thinking about it most days and I do feel more relaxed now. There’s still much more to do, but finally I can say I’ve won one now.’
If Lisowski was not as relaxed as he seemed before his title win, he also feels there are other misconceptions about him.
His free-flowing, attacking style makes him look like the game comes naturally to him, but he insists that is not the case.
‘Everyone says I’m natural, I’m like, see me play after a month off, you’ll soon change your mind on that one,’ said the 35-year-old. ‘I need to practise really hard, and I don’t think I am [natural].
‘It’s a weird game for me, snooker, it either feels like I know exactly what’s going on, or I don’t know which way my arm’s pointing. That can happen in games as well and that’s been one of my flaws over the years, it can all go downhill quickly.
‘I just think I’m quite an instinctive player, but yeah, it’s hard. I’m always trying, I think everyone’s got different mannerisms and stuff. I’m not going to stand there chalking my cue for two minutes before the shot, but I’m still trying my best.’
Stephen Hendry has been one prominent voice to question Jackpot and whether he is truly putting everything he has into contests.
‘There’s no bigger fan of Jack’s game than me, but he doesn’t compete, and that’s been his problem,’ the seven-time world champion said at last season’s British Open.
Lisowski says of this comment from the King of the Crucible: ‘I think whatever he says about me can seem a bit harsh, but I know he wants the best for me, he’s not saying it for nothing.
‘I think he probably means when I’m bad, I need to stop my level going as low as it does. Which I think he’s probably spot on with.
‘The difference between my good game and my bad game is a lot bigger than most pros, my good and bad is quite extreme. I’ve been working on it over the years, but maybe it never will change, maybe that’s just something I’ve got to accept and not get too down when I lose and not get too high when I win.’
One more belief Lisowski feels people hold about him, which is not true, is how much he works on his game.
‘I’ve had it quite a lot over the years,’ he said. ‘People say I need to practise more. I think I’m quite a hard practiser.
‘And I’m learning now, I’m starting to feel older and it’s draining. When I was 20 I could play for eight hours a day. But now I’ve got three hours in me and I start getting a bit tired. I think you can practise and get worse, if you’re not intense, so I’m trying not to do that.’
Lisowski’s practice routines produced mixed results last season, with his title in Belfast and a final at the Welsh Open but little else to shout about.
‘It was a bit weird, because my season, apart from Belfast, was poor. Wales was a good one, but that was about it really, apart from that, it wasn’t very good,’ he said.
‘I wouldn’t say I took my foot off the gas, but maybe you lose a little bit of intensity, I don’t know, maybe that’s the reason for not doing so well.
‘It’s a tough game, there’s so many tough players. I’ve lost two China qualifiers this season already. Lost to Chang Bingyu 6-1, he never missed a ball. I lost to another Chinese kid [Yao Pengcheng], 5-0. I wasn’t great, but he never really missed a ball either. It’s a tough sport, it’s a tough way to make a living.
‘He [Yao] was so good. The Chinese players are really coming through now, obviously you’ve got two Chinese World Champions in a row, and it’s been booming there for years. Now it’s like a changing of the guard. It could be a tough living from here on out.’
Lisowski is a huge fan of those two Chinese world champions, the reigning Crucible king, Wu Yize, and the man he dethroned, Zhao Xintong.
Their almost relentless attacking intent is one he shares and is encouragement that it can pay off for him in future.
‘Wu Yize, what a player,’ said the world number 17. ‘Honestly, it’s unbelievable. That break he’s done in the last frame [to beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 in the final]. He’s an amazing player. Him and Xintong, incredible.
‘I think now the game’s changed, I think you’ve got to attack, I know I have, I’ve got to attack and they’ve got to go in.
‘That’s how they play, Xintong and Wu Yize, so they just go for their shots, and it’s easier that way, because when you lose, you just go, “oh well, I just wasn’t good enough today.” At least you stuck to your guns and you’ve not lost playing negative.
‘I’m quite attacking and I have more success that way, it works for themand maybe they can take the game to a new level, I don’t know. I just think it’s interesting, every time they play it’s cool to see. I wonder how good they’re going to be in, five, 10 years. Are they going to be better? Or is this the peak? I don’t know.
‘When someone plays like that, they do kind of dictate the game. It’s good for people to watch, it makes snooker more exciting, they’re both great for the game.’
Lisowski hopes he can now couple his adventurous style of play with the confidence of his title win to bring more success.
‘Hopefully now that’ll give me the belief, I think it will,’ he said. ‘When I find myself in a semi and I think I’m playing well, I’m going to have that in the back of my head now that I know I can do it.
‘Whereas, I’ve probably had 10 times in my life where I think I’m playing really well and I got a chance, but did I truly believe at that point I could win? I don’t know.
‘Whereas now, if anything good has come out of it, I think that I know I can do it.’