Kyren Wilson shares bizarre security escort tale during fairy tale Shanghai Masters win

Title holder Wilson will face Ronnie O’Sullivan in a blockbuster last 16 match on Tuesday (12:30BST) at the Luwan Gymnasium. O’Sullivan won his preliminary round tie on Monday to set up a date with the number one seed.

The Shanghai Masters is very close to Wilson’s heart as it is the tournament where he made his big career breakthrough over a decade ago.

In 2015, Wilson became one of professional snooker’s unlikeliest ranking events champions when he stunned Judd Trump 10-9 in the final to pocket the £85,000 winner’s purse - more than seven times his previous highest payday at that point.

Ranked 54th in the world at the time, Wilson had to navigate three qualifying round matches, and then a wildcard match just to reach the last 32 where the top 16 seeds entered the fray.

Wilson on Shanghai experience that “blew his mind”

Following wins over Joe Perry and Michael Holt, Wilson was through to the second ranking event quarter-final of his career; his first also came at the Shanghai Masters two years before.

Arguably the biggest contest of his life, Wilson faced Chinese snooker’s trailblazing superstar Ding Junhui in the last eight. By this point, Ding was already a Masters, and two-time UK Championship winner, and within the same year had been the world number one.

A daunting prospect in front of Ding's adoring home crowd, but Wilson produced the biggest victory of his career, as he ousted his decorated opponent 5-4 on the final black in a pulsating encounter.

In a recent online video with him speaking to the Chinese media, Wilson re-visited a surreal experience in the immediate aftermath of that win that saw him escorted back to his hotel by a group of security officials.

"My biggest impression would be in 2015 when I won. I actually beat Ding Junhui in the quarter-final, 5-4 on the black, and I had five security guards take me from the venue back to the hotel”

Englishman Wilson added, likely in jest: "I thought someone was going to kill me! But because I was so young, and I hadn't experienced China too much and Ding Junhui was like the king; so that blew my mind, I thought that was crazy."

After that result and all the hoo-hah surrounding it, Wilson returned the next day to brush aside Mark Allen 6-1 in the semi-finals before resisting a comeback from Trump in the final - Trump recovered from 7-3 to force a decider - to claim his maiden professional title of any description.

Nearly a decade on from that red letter day, Wilson doubled up by collecting his second Shanghai Masters snooker crown in 2025.

After a 6-5 victory over Si Jiahui - during which both players made three centuries each - Wilson eliminated O’Sullivan 6-3 in the quarter-finals and newly-minted world champion Zhao Xintong 10-5 in the semis.

In the final, Wilson posted another trio of tons - he ended up with a tournament total of nine - in denying Ali Carter 11-9.

The Shanghai Masters changed from being a ranking event to an invitational in 2018. Only two cueists have won both versions of the competition - Wilson and O’Sullivan - and now they will meet once again in the Far East on Tuesday with a spot in the last eight up for grabs.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Shanghai Masters snooker invitational, visit our tournament information centre here.