Yesterday at Ally Pally served us two great matches, one of them was always going to produce a winner I like, the other one no so much … well, ok, I won’t go that route again.
Having cut a dejected figure at last month’s UK Championship, Kyren Wilson was back on form on and off the the table in the opening round of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, beating Si Jiahui 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
The first half of this season was full of obstacles for Wilson as his wife Sophie had serious health issues, while on the baize he lost form and the cue which won him the 2024 World Championship was accidentally broken. His struggles reached a low point when he lost to Elliot Slessor in the opening round in York and he told BBC he was on the edge of a mental breakdown and that he “wanted to smash the place up” in frustration.
Thankfully Sophie’s health has improved and the couple are working on a new initiative which aims to provide a support network to the families of players. World number two Wilson found a new cue before the Scottish Open and on today’s evidence it is working just as well as the old model as he fired as he fired two centuries and two more breaks over 50 in a fine display.
With his natural enthusiasm restored, the 34-year-old can look forward to a meeting with Neil Robertson or Chris Wakelin on Friday evening. It will be his sixth Masters quarter-final and he will be determined to lift the trophy for the first time having finished runner-up in 2018 and 2025.
Wilson got the better of the opening frame, then in the second he potted ten reds with blacks and had his sights set on becoming only the sixth player to make a 147 at the Masters, but with the balls well placed he missed a tricky pot on the 11th red to a top corner.
Si pulled one back with an excellent run of 97 and he had a chance to snatch frame four from 53-0 down, but on a break of 21 he misjudged the black to a top corner, clipping a red first, and Wilson took advantage to lead 3-1 at the interval. Frame five lasted 34 minutes, the longest of the week so far, and was resolved when Si laid a tough snooker on the final yellow then took the chance that followed to halve his deficit.
But Wilson stepped up a gear and finished strongly with breaks of 59, 101 and 105 in the last three frames. Remarkably all five matches so far this week have finished with a 6-2 scoreline.
“I felt really strong out there,” said Kettering’s Wilson. “When you can go out and trust your cue and just play the game, it makes my job an awful lot easier. At 3-2 Si was looking dangerous, he has great technique, so it was important to win the next frame.
“In this era you have to play an attacking game, because grinding out frames takes too much out of you. So I have wanted to speed it up and play in a natural way. I have been playing snooker since I was six so it has always frustrated me when people say I am not a natural player compared to others. It has been nice to put that to bed and play good flowing snooker, and there is no better place to do that than Ally Pally.”
I’m happy for Kyren that the health of his wife, Sophie, is improving. He’s a family man and his wife health problems must have been constantly on his mind every time he was away from home. I’m happy for Sophie as well of course, and for their children. But for Kyren, not being able to provide as much as he certainly wanted to, at a time when the money was particularly needed, with care costs to face and maybe someone needed to help at home when he was away. Not to mention the psychological support Sophie surely needed, and that he only could fully give her by staying at her side, at home.
On his record-extending 32nd consecutive appearance at the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, John Higgins was outstanding in a 6-2 win over Barry Hawkins as he set up a huge quarter-final with Zhao Xintong at Alexandra Palace.
Higgins’ extraordinary longevity at the top of the sport is underlined by the fact that he has been ever present in this tournament since 1995, and now at the age of 50 he is still ranked as high as fifth in the world and is capable of tremendous performances as he proved tonight, making six breaks over 50 and converting almost every long pot he attempted.
It’s 20 years since Scotland’s Higgins won the second of his two Masters titles, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 in the 2006 final with one of the all-time great deciding frame clearances. He has also been vulnerable in the first round, losing 16 times out of 31 including each of the last three years. But on this occasion he was by far the stronger player particularly after winning the vital third frame. In an intriguing clash of generations, Higgins will meet World Champion Zhao Xintong at 1pm on Thursday.
The first two frames tonight were shared, then Hawkins had a golden chance in the third but missed a short range black to a top corner on a break of 46 and his opponent punished him with a 71 clearance. Higgins extended his lead to 3-1 with a run of 53 before Hawkins took frame five with a break of 64.
Runs of 99 and 58 put Higgins 5-2 ahead, and though he broke down on 61 in the next, Hawkins’ attempted counter ended when he lost position on the last red. A thumping long pot from Higgins on the red to a top corner sealed the result – and continued the sequence of all matches so far this week finishing 6-2.
“I’m delighted, the way I hit the ball tonight,” said Higgins, who won the World Open and Tour Championship at the tail end of last season. “I was surprised at how well I played because I didn’t practise that much over Christmas then I was out in China, and after that I was stuck for a few days in Amsterdam waiting for a flight home. So it wasn’t the best preparation, but I wanted to enjoy it tonight and that’s half the battle. I have got to the stage in my life where I am just smiling more at events and staying relaxed. Before I was uptight, trying so hard to get ready for matches, but it can’t work like that any more.
“I’ll really look forward to playing Zhao, you go with him because he plays at a really good pace and he’s a great champion. It will take a bit of time for him to settle into consistently being one of the best players. He’ll be looking at guys like Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson and try to emulate them, but he’s well capable of doing that.”
John Higgins is one of the all time greats, of course he is, and his match against Zhao should be tremendous to watch. But yeah … I just hope Zhao wins it. He too made mistakes, but at least he admitted to it, and he had to re-qualify to get back on tour, after a ban that lasted more than just a few weeks, mostly during the “off season” when no event was on.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 