How Kyren Wilson ‘used’ Ronnie O’Sullivan to win World Snooker Championship – EXCLUSIVE | Other | Sport
Kyren Wilson believes snooker’s older generation are there to be ‘used’ and ‘learned from’, and the 32-year-old actively sought to pick their brains without them even realising ahead of his sensational World Snooker Championship victory on Monday.
Wilson name-dropped Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams as three of the standout senior players he looks to take wisdom from behind the scenes. And their nuggets of advice paid dividends for him at the Crucible as he ground out a nervy 18-14 win over Jak Jones to seal his first world title.
In an interview with Express Sport before the tournament, Wilson said of snooker’s long-established stars: “They’re there to learn from, for me. Every time I play them I try and learn. I try and pick their brains without them even realising I’m picking their brains, in the players’ lounge and stuff.
“I want to be the best version of myself and the likes of Ronnie, John, Mark Williams, they’re sort of the best the game has produced in many years. You’ve got to use them to learn from and see where your game’s at.”
He continued: “I’ve got to be like a sponge and soak up as much information as I can. In a competition like Championship League, there are multiple games going on and there’s so much time when you’re sat in the players’ lounge together. You can just pick their brains and see what’s what. You might want to modify a few bits into your own game and see if it works.”
Wilson enjoyed a relatively favourable run to this year’s final but still had to beat Higgins – one of the men singled out as a source of knowledge by the new world champion – in the quarter-finals.
While O’Sullivan’s advice may have helped Wilson break his duck at the Crucible, the Rocket’s own tournament was ended by Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals.
Wilson’s victory came somewhat out of the blue given his best result of the season prior to the world championship came at the German Masters, where he crashed out in the semi-finals.
But the new world No 3 had full faith in his ability to get the job done, which ultimately paid off in Sheffield with a £500,000 cash prize. “My form has been there, my confidence has been there but you can’t just expect to walk into somewhere like the Crucible and land results every time you turn up,” he explained.
“I went on a bit of a lean spell [between 2018 and 2021], I was probably one of the best performers there for a few years. I think it just suits my personality and suits my game. I’m confident going into this one, as I always am each year.”
