Kyren Wilson wins his first world title after defeating Jak Jones 18-14 in a tense final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The 32-year-old was leading 15-10 before moving to the brink of victory at 17-11. Jones fought back by winning three consecutive frames, but Wilson sealed his victory with an outburst and tears of joy. Wilson apologized to Jones for his emotions and thanked his family for their sacrifices and support throughout his career.
Wilson’s win comes after an underwhelming campaign, during which he dealt with challenging family issues away from the table. However, he produced arguably the best snooker of his career over the 17-day event to earn the £500,000 top prize. It secured a moment of redemption for Wilson after his 18-8 defeat by Ronnie O’Sullivan in his only previous World Championship final in 2020.
Jones won many admirers for his superb matchplay and wonderful temperament, despite being only the ninth qualifier in 47 years at the Crucible to reach the final. The quiet Welshman came into the tournament as a 200-1 outsider, but climbed from 44th to 14th in the world rankings as a result of his stunning journey to the final. Jones said, “It’s been an unbelievable tournament for me. About a month ago, I was twitching in my first qualifying match.”
Wilson and Jones first competed against each other at Q School in 2011, but their paths diverged significantly since then. Wilson went on to win six ranking events, but until now, he had been unable to get over the line in one of the Triple Crown events. He now climbs nine places to end the campaign third in the world rankings, behind new number one Mark Allen and Judd Trump.
Wilson believes he can be a multiple world champion, and he has now fulfilled his boyhood dream with a match-winning break of 42. He said, “That first one has got to be the hardest. I’ve got it off my back, and nobody can take that away from me.
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