Kyren Wilson has World Snooker Championship crowd in stitches with Selby quip
Kyren Wilson made a cheeky quip about Mark Selby after leaving himself on the verge of a 147 at the Crucible.
The Warrior was on for a maximum break during his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Dave Gilbert on Thursday until things went awry for the 32-year-old. Wilson made an unchallenged 88 but left himself with a tough red to the middle pocket that saw his break come to an end.
The Kettering potter would’ve scooped a big cash prize had he cleared the table in what would have been his second 147 in as many years at the Crucible. Wilson hit a maximum in his first round victory over Ryan Day 12 months ago.
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On that occasion, the Warrior had been in line to collect a combined £55,000 cheque for the highest break and maximum break. But four-time world champion Selby had other ideas.
The Jester from Leicester hit a 147 of his own in the final against Luca Brecel, forcing Wilson to share the prize. As Wilson aimed to hit another maximum break, he reminded himself of the events of 12 months prior, much to the amusement of the Crucible crowd.
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(Image: PA)
“Thank God Mark Selby is out this year,” quipped Wilson as he was sat on 73, sending the audience into uproar. Unfortunately for Wilson, end of break wasn’t far away as he missed out on the £40,000 maximum break prize.
“What a wally,” Wilson joked after missing the opportunity for another slice of Crucible history. Speaking afterwards, he said: ““My brother told me off! You want to perform for the crowd and that’s why I tried for a cheeky 147. It would have been so special to make it in front of my boys.”
(Image: VCG via Getty Images)
Wilson spoke to Daily Star Sport ahead of the Crucible about the incident with Selby and the circumstances in which he found out about his unfortunate loss of earnings. “I was at a bottomless brunch with my wife,” he recalled.
“I’d had a few too many celebrating my maximum and ended up in bed for 9pm. I woke up the next day to about 20 missed calls. I had loads of messages but the one I saw first was from Shaun Murphy and had one of those emojis with the covered face.
“I thought ‘what’s happened here,’ so I clicked on them, and it was like ‘Selby has had a 147!’ It was the worst hangover I’ve ever had! Selby cost me almost £30,000.”
Wilson and Gilbert are currently tied at four apiece in their best-of-33 encounter. The winner will face either Stuart Bingham or Jak Jones in the Crucible final.
