Kyren Wilson on cusp of significant career achievement after maiden Masters glory

Having been runner-up at the Alexandra Palace twice before in 2018 and 2025, Wilson made sure the third time was a charm as he defeated John Higgins 10-6 in the final to win professional snooker’s most prestigious invitational event for the first time in his career.

In a tournament that was celebrating its 52nd annual edition since it began in 1975, Wilson became the 26th different winner of the Masters.

Wilson also doubled his personal Triple Crown count following his success at snooker’s biggest event, the World Championship, in 2024 where he denied qualifier Jak Jones 18-14 in the final at the Crucible Theatre.

What is snooker’s ‘Triple Crown’ and which players have completed it?

This now means that Englishman Wilson is two-thirds of the way to completing a ‘Career Triple Crown’ that consists of winning snooker’s three biggest titles: the UK Championship, the Masters, and the World Championship.

The concept of snooker having a ‘Triple Crown’ is a relatively recent thing over the past decade, although there were refences to it before then.

The World Championship was first won by Joe Davis in 1927, but it wasn’t until the modern era that the Masters (started in 1975) and UK Championship (started in 1977) were created; the latter competition also wasn’t open to all overseas professionals until 1984 when it turned into a ranking event.

Bearing these dates in mind, several other snooker greats would have likely joined this list had those events been on during their pomp, but to date, only 11 players have ticked all three boxes for a Career Triple Crown.

The first to do so was Steve Davis in 1982, and the latest addition to the elite membership was Judd Trump in 2019. In between them, Terry Griffiths, Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, and Shaun Murphy have also joined the party.

Wilson will have to wait until towards the end of this year for his first shot at gaining entry to the club, requiring the UK crown for the trio. He is a two-time semi-finalist at the tournament, having reached the last four in York in 2021 and 2024.

Which players are close to achieving a Career Triple Crown?

There are now currently seven active players on the professional snooker circuit who need one more title to complete a Career Triple Crown.

Four of those require snooker’s blue riband prize, the World Championship. They are: Jimmy White, Matthew Stevens, Ding Junhui, and Mark Allen.

One of snooker’s all-time most popular and influential figures, White - who won the 1984 Masters, and 1992 UK Championship - has been runner-up at the Crucible six times, once in 1984 and for five consecutive years from 1990 to 1994.

Stevens - World Championship runner-up in 2000 and 2005 - and Ding - Crucible finalist in 2016 - have both also played in professional snooker’s most important fixture. Allen has yet to appear in the final.

As well as Wilson, 2015 World Champion and 2020 Masters winner Stuart Bingham is looking for the UK trophy to finish his list. Bingham has been a three-time semi-finalist at the UK Championship; agonisingly, he lost in a deciding frame on each of those occasions in 2013, 2014, and 2018.

The cueist who had the most recent opportunity to join the Career Triple Crown ranks was reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong.

Having made his big career breakthrough when claiming the 2021 UK Championship, Zhao would have achieved the fabled treble with title success at the recent Masters, but he was pipped by Higgins 6-5 in the quarter-finals, having led 5-3.