Kyren Wilson 'buzzing' about news of Crucible stay and hopes his children play there one day

Englishman Wilson knows what it feels like to win snooker’s blue riband prize on the hallowed stage in Sheffield.

In 2024, despite travelling to the event after a disappointing season, Wilson fulfilled a dream by lifting the iconic trophy following an 18-14 victory over qualifier Jak Jones in the final.

Whilst wearing the world crown, Wilson enjoyed a fantastic follow-up term on the professional circuit, winning a further four ranking event titles.

His results this season have been patchy - although he has had to contend with issues away from the table and with his cue - but has still won two massive invitational events at the Shanghai Masters, and the Masters at the Alexandra Palace.

Ahead of his upcoming World Championship campaign, Wilson spoke with event sponsor Midnite about he feels on the news that the Crucible will remain the home of the tournament until at least 2045, with the building set to undergo upgrades later this decade which could increase capacity by 500 seats.

“Oh, I was buzzing” said the world number two. “To be honest, the first thing that came to my mind was the fact that both of my children are quite keen on snooker.

“They're sort of quite keen practitioners and they've been many times backstage and have been through the whole World Championship process with me.

“And the first thing that came to my mind was the fact that hopefully they're going to have the chance to to play in that iconic venue. I think that kind of sums it up!”

Wilson’s two sons - Finley and Bailey - played in a qualifying event for this season’s English Under-14 Snooker Championship. They both got through their group to make the knockout rounds where Finley ousted his younger brother Bailey 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Finley bowed out to the eventual winner of the qualifier, Emilio Bassili, in the last four.

The Crucible ‘stands separate’ to any other snooker venue says Wilson

With the previous Crucible contract due to have run out in 2027, talk and speculation about the its future had been rife in recent years, with some top stars discussing issues with the venue, such as its backstage facilities and limited capacity.

But Wilson believes the intimacy adds to the magic of the Championship, and it’s cauldron-like atmosphere.

“You're not going to find a venue anywhere in the world where every single player is going to be perfectly at ease and happy.

“You know, I actually feel like it it adds to the atmosphere, how compact it is, you know, you feel like the person in the front row can literally pull the cue out of your hand on some shots, but also I think, it's not just the fact that it's going to stay there, I think it's also the fact that they've announced they're going to improve it. They're going to hopefully add a capacity of up to 1,500 people.

“We're all well aware that we could pack out bigger stadiums, bigger venues, but sometimes it's about sort of the history, the heritage, and the Crucible has that in abundance.

“It stands separate I think to any other venue. It's definitely one of my favourites, but for many different reasons, as I said, I actually quite like the compact feeling.”

For over a month, the ‘Steel City’ of Sheffield becomes a ‘Snooker City’. If you include the World Championship Qualifiers which take place elsewhere in the city, and the World Seniors Championship staged at the Crucible just after the professional version, there are pretty much five weeks of non-stop baize action which generates significant revenue to the local economy.

And Wilson - who made his Crucible debut in 2014 - enjoys his trips to South Yorkshire: “I like the whole city, you feel like it becomes a snooker city in Sheffield. You certainly know the snooker's in town and you know you're walking around the backstage and the corridors and you can sort of feel the nostalgia sort of oozing around the corridors and you know to be adding to that history and making even more memories for many years to come for me is a real treat.”

Wilson will be the number three seed for the 2026 World Snooker Championship and is scheduled to play and complete his first round match at the Crucible on Monday 20th April.

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