"It was a massive kick in the teeth" Kyren Wilson relieved to bounce back with Shanghai title win

Wilson ousted Ali Carter 11-9 in a thrilling final on Sunday at the Luwan Gynmasium, pocketing the top prize of £210,000 and securing his second Shanghai crown. His first came nearly a decade ago, when as a qualifier ranked 54th in the world, Wilson won nine matches to record his big career breakthrough.

The current world number two, but few could surely dispute that Wilson is the best snooker player on the planet right now.

Inside the space of the past 15 months, Wilson has lifted six trophies on the World Snooker Tour, a golden spell that began with his maiden World Championship triumph at the Crucible Theatre in May 2024.

‘The Warrior’ coped exceptionally well whilst wearing the world crown for the first time, winning four ranking event titles last term - Xi’an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open, German Masters, Players Championship - defeating world number one Judd Trump in three of those finals.

Wilson was also runner-up at the Masters and Championship League Invitational, and a semi-finalist at the UK Championship.

Heading into the season-ending World Championship in Sheffield, Wilson was being tipped by many as the player to finally break the ‘Crucible Curse’, but he fell victim to that famous hex when qualifier and debutant there Lei Peifan shocked him 10-9 on day one.

The Englishman has played, and won, a behind-closed-doors Wuhan Open qualifying match since then, but this week was his first competitive engagement in front of a crowd following that ill-fated Crucible title defence.

And how Wilson has responded.

Following a deciding frame win over Si Jiahui in the last 16, Wilson dispatched record five-time Shanghai Masters champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 in the quarter-finals, and then dished out Zhao Xintong’s first defeat as the new World Champion with a 10-5 win in their semi-final on Saturday.

The next day, Wilson had to go again for another multi-session match, but was up for the task as he cleared with a 32 to take frame 20 by a single point and add another accolade to his CV.

Speaking with the World Snooker Tour after his latest title glory, Wilson admitted that he was feeling tired towards the end.

“I knew I had to take out that clearance at the end. Fatigue was starting to slip in” Wilson said.

“I didn’t want to face Ali in a final frame because his success rate in deciders this week has been fantastic. He is a great champion and made it really difficult all day long.

“I had to summon up every ounce of concentration and composure to drop that long red in and clear up. I held myself together and then you saw all of the emotions".

The 33-year-old admitted how much it hurt losing to Lei at the Crucible and feeling like he wasn’t part of the tournament after exiting it on day one of the televised stages, but how pleased he has got back to winning ways at the first possible opportunity:

“It was a huge kick in the teeth going out in the first round of the World Championship. I don’t have that world title tag anymore, but I’ve carried on in the same form.

“It is important to kick off the season in good fashion. This sets me up nicely for what is to come. I’ve had to wait a long time to get going again in professional competition, but this was definitely worth the wait.”

Next up for Wilson and his fellow professionals is the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters that starts on Friday with the lowest ranked players, Q Tour top-ups, and local wildcards getting their campaigns underway in the £2.3 million tournament.

As a top 16 seed, Wilson will enter the fray on Tuesday 12th August when the last 32 takes place.

With Wilson chasing Trump to become world number one for the first time in his career, going deep in the upcoming event - which has a £500,000 winner’s kitty - could go a long way in helping achieve that ambition.

Please visit our 2025 Shanghai Masters tournament information page here for the draw, results, format, match schedule, how to watch details and prize money payouts.