Kyren Wilson has won the title of world snooker champion for the first time. The 32-year-old Englishman defeated Welsh outsider Jak Jones 18:14 in the final in Sheffield and secured the greatest success of his career to date.
In addition to the silver trophy, Wilson will receive prize money of 500,000 pounds, around 583,000 euros. Jones had only entered the tournament as a qualifier and surprised at the Crucible Theater with, among other things, a win against former champion Judd Trump.
Wilson follows the Belgian Luca Brecel, who secured his first world title last year. “The Warrior”, as the Englishman is called, has had a confident tournament. His 10:1 first round win against the Welshman Dominic Dale was followed by further clear victories over the Englishman Joe O’Connor (13:6), Scotland’s John Higgins (13:8) and the Englishman David Gilbert (17:11).
Even in the final, success was never really in danger thanks to a strong 7-1 start. Jones managed a century break with 105 points, but despite a decent performance in the evening it was no longer enough to turn things around. With the score at 16:11, a new Black had to decide the frame – Wilson skillfully converted over the boards and was then unstoppable. Joyful and relieved, he shouted a “Come on” into the Crucible when the game was decided.
In the new world rankings, Wilson is ranked third. Mark Allen from Northern Ireland takes the top spot from Ronnie O’Sullivan, who slips to fifth place. Trump is between Allen and Wilson. Finalist Jones improves by 30 places to 14th place.
