Kyren Wilson defeated John Higgins 10-8 in a high-quality International Championship final in Nanjing to claim the 12th ranking title of his career.
The Englishman becomes the 16th player in snooker history to win back-to-back ranking events. The last player to achieve the feat was Zhao Xintong when he won last season’s World Grand Prix and Players Championship.
Wilson claimed victory at the Waterfront Hall to win the Northern Ireland Open a fortnight ago. He thrashed Jak Jones 9-2 in the title match to claim glory in Belfast.
This week has seen the Warrior battle through the field. He trailed Liam Highfield 5-3 in the opening round before prevailing 6-5 and was also taken to a decider against Oliver Lines. Wilson once again showed his fighting qualities to overturn a first session deficit this evening.
Wilson, 34, moves level with Mark Allen on 12 ranking titles, putting him joint 11th on the all-time list and just one behind Shaun Murphy.
He moves from ninth to eighth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, with a significant few weeks now on the horizon. Wilson heads to Leicester next week to compete in the Champion of Champions and will be aiming to complete the Triple Crown set at the upcoming UK Championship in York.
Aged 51, Higgins misses out on the opportunity to become the oldest ever ranking event winner. Mark Williams retains that honour, having won the Xi’an Grand Prix last year at the age of 50.
With Higgins leading 5-4 coming into the evening, a break of 70 gave Wilson the opener to restore parity. He then moved 69-0 up in the 11th, before a vintage Higgins clearance of 70, aided by a double on the final red, saw him steal on the black to lead 6-5.
Wilson drew level again with a break of 130 in the 12th and led in the 13th, but again Higgins summoned a clearance of 65 and stole on the pink. That left him 7-6 up heading into the last interval of the tournament.
When play resumed Wilson drew level thanks to a break of 80. He led in the 15th frame, but again broke down and gave Higgins a chance to counter. The Glaswegian looked set for a third big steal of the night, but missed the blue and Wilson cleared to the black to go 8-7 ahead.
A break of 101 moved Wilson one from victory, but Higgins showed his resolve in the 17th to remain in contention at 9-8. Ultimately, a contribution of 61 helped Wilson over the line and clinched a first International Championship crown.
“It was a really good final. The way he played against Chang Bingyu in the semi-finals I knew I was in for a tough match. It was about sticking in there and bouncing back if I made mistakes. He has made a career out of unbelievable clearances under pressure and has been an idol of mine since I started watching the game. To play him in a final like this is a dream come true and it is an honour to win,” said 2024 World Champion Wilson.
“I can remember him absolutely wiping the floor with me one year at the World Championship. When he gets on a roll and is in the groove he can blow anyone and everyone away. He is pretty much the most complete snooker player of all-time. To beat him in two big finals, at the Masters and here, I’m chuffed.
“Winning back-to-back titles is an incredible feat really. I’m probably boring people by saying how high the standard is, but it is frightening. It is through the roof. When you have all-time legends still around and getting to finals, it makes it even more difficult. I’m delighted I’ve bounced back from Belfast and won again. That is no mean feat.
“It is a great opportunity to now have the Champion of Champions and UK Championship coming up. I’ll never complain about having back-to-back events. You have to dust yourself down and go again. It is a good time to be hitting form.“
“Kyren was very strong tonight and I just got a little bit weaker at the end,” said four-time Crucible king Higgins.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m taking the positives this week. I was in very poor form coming into the tournament. It has given me motivation to get back and try to win an event soon. I feel like I might be close as I played very well. Kyren was too strong. It is a great achievement for him to win back-to-back events.”
