Kyren Wilson in danger of not receiving invite to defend Players Championship crown

The reigning German Masters champion got his title defence off to a brilliant start on Monday as he racked up breaks of 75, 63, 119 and 65 in a 5-1 round of 64 win over Robert Milkins at the Tempodrom.

Next up for the world number two is a meeting with Anthony McGill on Tuesday night in Berlin.

Wilson travelled to the German capital city in high spirits, fresh from his Masters triumph at the Alexandra Palace just several days before. That was Wilson’s second title of the season having won on his first outing of the term at the Shanghai Masters back in early August.

From those two events alone, the Kettering cueist pocketed £560,000, but not a single penny of those glories have gone on his ranking points totals as they were both invitational, non-ranked competitions.

So far, in ranking tournaments this season, it has been a struggle for Wilson, who has yet to appear in a single semi-final, with quarter-final finishes at the Saudi Arabia Masters and Northern Ireland Open representing his best results.

As a consequence - despite being second in the main global standings - Wilson is currently outside the top 16 on the one-year/seasonal ranking list.

The 34-year-old has qualified for next week’s World Grand Prix in Hong Kong - where the top 32 from the one-year list were invited - but as it stands, he will not be at the Players Championship held at the Telford International Centre between February 17-22.

Only the top 16 from the seasonal standings will earn a berth for that second Players Series event of the season; there are no exceptions, even for Wilson, who is the reigning champion having defeated Judd Trump 10-9 in last year’s final.

Heading into the televised stages of the German Masters, Wilson was 22nd on the one-year list with £102,700 - over £32,000 behind 16th-placed Zhou Yuelong (£135,000).

There is still time for Wilson to qualify for the Players Championship, but there are only two counting competitions left - this week’s action in Germany, and next week’s in the Far East. He will likely need a final, or two very deep runs over this next fortnight to win a ticket for Telford.

Should Wilson not qualify for it, he wouldn’t be the first reigning Players Champion unable to defend the crown with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy all not making the top 16 cut in recent times despite holding the title.

Wilson is also not the only big name struggling to earn a trip to Telford with reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong in a similar predicament in 18th position on £108,150.

Like Wilson, Zhao has collected a big cheque this season - at the Riyadh Season Championship - but that was an invitational and doesn’t help his cause in reaching the three Players Series stops.

Only the top seven on the one-year list appear safe for the Players Championship: Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, Wu Yize, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Chris Wakelin. However, O’Sullivan - who won £200,000 from making the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters - may elect to skip this tournament. If that’s the case, the player in 17th on the list will get a reprieve.

There is a total prize fund of £500,000 on offer at the 2026 Players Championship, with £150,000 of that going to the eventual champion. Those who qualify are guaranteed £15,000 for turning up.

The competition is set to be the first professional snooker event broadcasted by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.