Kyren Wilson has completed an incredible turnaround from ‘one of his lowest points’ at the UK Championship to winning the Masters less than seven weeks later.
The Warrior beat John Higgins 10-6 in the Alexandra Palace final on Sunday, lifting the Paul Hunter Trophy for the first time and landing the £350,000 top prize.
It was not a classic final, but Wilson’s 6-5 wins over Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals and Wu Yize in the semis were epic and he will not care that it was a scrappy showpiece against Higgins, who struggled to find any form.
Wilson started the season brilliantly by winning the Shanghai Masters in August, but has had a very difficult time since then, with his World Championship-winning cue accidentally broken and his wife suffering a serious health scare.
A run of disappointing results in ranking events led to the UK Championship where Wilson lost in the first round to Elliot Slessor and was struggling badly with the uncertainty of chopping and changing cues as he searched for an answer.
The 34-year-old has now found a cue he likes and his wife Sophie is much better after a testing time, which Wilson says was being questioned by some doubters.
‘There’s been some comments: “Oh you’re making excuses, you’re doing this and that”,’ Wilson told TNT. ‘Unfortunately people think they know what you’re talking about and they have no idea.
‘Mine have been genuine facts. My wife has been literally on death’s door. My cue was completely broken. They are genuine facts. They are going to hinder you as a snooker player. They are going to hinder you as anyone.
‘Obviously I came here and my cue is now fine, I’ve got no excuses, that is genuine, if I get beat I get beat, that’s fine.’
‘There’s been a lot of strain on the family.’
Sophie and the couple’s two sons celebrated another incredible achievement on Sunday night, which seemed a long way off just a few months ago.
Speaking in mid-October, Wilson told the BBC: ‘We’re about seven weeks in, my wife has had some surgery recently and we’ve been waiting on some results which thankfully have come back all good this week.
‘It’s been quite tough to be honest, there’s been a lot of strain on the family.’
With better news on the health front, Wilson had actually found a cue he thought he liked before the UK Championship, only to lose faith in it just before the event, leading to his ‘hissy fit’ in York.
‘I think the whole emotions and everything that came out, I think that was just…the UK is so big and with everything that’s happened, I felt like I was ready for it,’ he told Metro ahead of the Masters. ‘I was starting to feel good and you get there and everything changes. It was just a bit soul-destroying.
‘Probably one of the lowest points I’ve ever had, to be honest. I’ve gone through a period now, almost two years, of feeling like I’m definitely in the mix of being one of the best players in the world.
‘I’ve probably been the most successful over the past 18 months. You give it everything and when something out of your hands has happened, that’s a freak accident as well, it was just a bit soul-destroying.
‘I’ve had my hissy fit and I’m over it now.’
Wilson arrived at the Masters reasonably confident with his equipment again, having used his latest cue at the Scottish Open in December and then in exhibitions in China over the festive period.
‘I’ve used the same cue since the Scottish Open, which for me is an awfully long period of time,’ he said. ‘And when you can get out to exhibitions in China [over Christmas] that have no practice tables, get straight on the table in front of a big crowd and knock a century in, you think, well, this must be OK.’
There were still some doubts in his mind, though, as at the Championship League in Leicester the week before the Masters, he used more than one cue over his six matches.
‘After the UK Championship I thought I was gone.’
Those doubts have been put to bed now, having won a second Triple Crown title and made eight centuries on the way to Masters glory.
‘After the UK Championship I thought I was gone, I didn’t know if I was ever going to be back in the winner’s enclosure,’ he said.
Less than seven weeks later, he is firmly back in that enclosure and targeting plenty more silverware over the rest of the season.
As for 50-year-old Higgins, he became the oldest ever Triple Crown finalist, but was left disappointed with his level of performance against Wilson.
It is the Scot’s second final this season, having also lost to Wu Yize at the International Championship and he has been frustrated with his displays in both contests.
‘The crowd were fantastic. The entrance tonight was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a snooker player. The conditions were fantastic, but I was just useless,’ said the Wizard of Wishaw.
‘Take nothing away from Kyren, he was by far the better player. He was totally dominant. 10-6, it wasn’t even a 10-6 match. It’s disappointing, because the last two finals I’ve played in, I’ve gone out like a light in the final, but there we go.’
