Kyren Wilson has got his hands on snooker’s holy grail after seeing off Jak Jones in the World Championship final.
The 32-year-old beat the Welshman 18 frames to 14 in a thrilling match tonight (May 6).
It has always seemed a case of when, not if, the Northamptonshire potter would taste glory at the sport’s top table. He was close in 2020, only to suffer a crushing defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in Covid times, with just a smattering of supporters present at the Crucible.
The contrast to the scene as he lifted the famous World Championship trophy could not have been greater to that bleak time. The pain of that defeat has been a motivating factor for Wilson, 32, as have his snooker-mad sons, Finley, 8, and Bailey, 6.
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They naturally take priority over his snooker. Speaking before the tournament, he said: “I would love to try and give a season what I give to the worlds. I am a different player and a person when it comes to the Crucible.
“But it’s hard to maintain that through a whole year when you have young children chasing you out the door, saying ‘don’t go.’ I have to give them my time, but I do think there will be a period in my career when they’re not so dependent on me.
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(Image: Getty Images)
“Then I can just go and be the professional snooker player, as selfish as that may sound. I have a very understanding wife [Sophie] who wants that for me as well. Maybe you’ll see it in the next few years.”
Along with the inspiration his family provides, Wilson has also been fuelled by hypnotherapy and… salmon.
“I’m going to grow gills I think with how much salmon I’ve eaten,” he joked after his semi-final victory over David Gilbert. “I’ve been working with a few people to help me with things.
(Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
“I’ve been working on the mental side. I’ve been working with a solution hypnotherapist Chris O’Connor. It’s something we started just before the World Championship. We’ve been speaking pretty much every single day.
“It’s just about emptying your stress bucket. We all have things going on that can affect our day-to-day working lives. It’s allowed me to go out there and be freer.
(Image: PA)
“Our minds are so clogged up with so many different things that don’t need to be there. If you can eliminate them and focus only on your snooker it makes the game a hell of a lot easier. I’ve had some great sleep this tournament, he’s been knocking me right out.”
By his own admission, Wilson hadn’t had the best of seasons before arriving in Sheffield, but that is utterly irrelevant now as he basks in the glow of becoming snooker’s king of the world. With the big one in the bag, you’d be brave to bet against him winning many more big titles over the next decade.