"I just can't get my head around it" - Kyren Wilson pleas Luca Brecel to change chalks


World number two Wilson issued a compassionate plea following his narrow victory over the Belgian at last week’s 2025 Masters at the Alexandra Palace.
The winners of the last two World Championship titles in Sheffield in 2023 and 2024 respectively, Brecel and Wilson have faced each other three times in recent months on the World Snooker Tour, having previously not shared the baize on the professional circuit for over three years.
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Wilson won their round one meeting 4-1 at the Champion of Champions in November, but Brecel got the verdict just before Christmas with a 4-3 victory in the quarter-finals of the Riyadh Season Championship.
Last week, the two clashed again during an enthralling last eight tie in London, with eventual tournament runner-up Wilson ousting it, 6-4.
As well as dealing with an ankle injury through sleeping awkwardly, ‘The Warrior’ also explained that he had to content with his opponent’s choice of chalk during the match.
Wilson uses the Taom chalk brand, but Brecel currently doesn’t, and in post-match interviews with the BBC and Eurosport, the former explained how it affected his mentality, approach, and the contest.
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“Nothing against Luca, it's so hard work playing him when he is using that old style chalk. The cushions react different, you get kicks, the table plays heavy, so you've almost got to try and forget about that and deal with your own present shot” Wilson said to the BBC.
“You know, I dread to think the amount of times I had the cue ball cleaned. I don't understand why he is using it.
“He became world champion using the new stuff. If I was going to give him some advice, go back to what you did when you won the World Championship, cos he’s only going to make himself suffer.”
A few minutes later, Wilson talked about the topic again with the Eurosport snooker team: “I’m trying to deal with Luca’s chalk. I let it bother me in Saudi” - Wilson referring to his deciding frame loss to him at the Riyadh Championship.
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“I just don't understand it. I understand it from Ronnie's point of view because it's what he's grown up with, he's played with it forever.
“Luca won the World Championship with the Pyro - the Taom Pyro - why not stick with what you won the World Championship with? I don’t understand it, so, if I was being a friend, because I love Luca, he’s a great lad, I’d advise him to go back to how he won the World Championship because he had a few kicks that cost him a few frames. I just can’t get my head around it.”
“Why do I not use the round chalk? Cos I don’t believe in it”
There has been plenty of discussion in recent years about the new style of chalk, that is viewed as a modern-day revelation for the sport by many players. Whilst there aren’t official figures, it appears that the majority of the professional tour now uses Taom, although several players don’t, including most notably Ronnie O’Sullivan.
In a behind the scenes video on the Eurosport Snooker YouTube channel just before the UK Championship earlier this season, O’Sullivan allowed the camera to look inside his cue case.
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During the video he raised a couple of blocks of Tweeten Triangle Chalk and was asked about it. O’Sullivan replied: “Why do I not use the round chalk? Cos I don’t believe in it.
“I believe that this (focuses on the chalk) is the king of all chalks. This you can buy a piece for maybe 20p, the other stuff 15 quid. I just don’t like it, I think this is just still the best stuff.”
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