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Kyren Wilson beat qualifier David Gilbert at the Crucible Theater to reach his second World Snooker Championship final and will face Welsh qualifier Jack Jones in a surprise showpiece.
Twelfth-seeded Wilson won three of the four spots needed in Saturday’s third session, winning 17-11 and clinching his second title after losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2020 final. I decided.
Five consecutive frames did the damage in Friday night’s second session, with Wilson turning a neck-to-neck clash that was in great shape at 9-9 into a four-frame advantage he couldn’t squander.
Gilbert posted a break of 70 in the first frame of the day to close the gap to 14-11, but after getting worse in the next long safety battle his fate was effectively sealed.
After scoring the decisive blue, Wilson threw a punch in the air and blew a kiss to his family in the stands. He will be the heavy favorite to start in the second final against Jack Jones, who defeated Stuart Bingham 17-12 in the second semi-final. It staggers and develops more slowly than the free-flowing Wilson-Gilbert contest.
Jones and Bingham were deadlocked at 8-8 heading into Saturday’s first of two sessions, but although Jones made a run in the morning and built a 13-10 advantage, play was slow and he lost early. removed from the frame.
Bingham, the 2015 world champion, won the first frame of the evening session, but the Welshman held on to win through a long 40-minute frame, eventually holding his nerve and crossing the line in frame 29. I couldn’t get any closer than that.
After reaching the quarter-finals on his Crucible debut last year, Jones has shaken off a mediocre season to aim for even more this time around, showing remarkable composure despite falling behind in the best-of-35 final. They defeated former world champions Bingham and Judd Trump, as well as talented Chinese duo Shi Jiahui and Zhang Anda, who have already qualified for the tournament.
After defeating Gilbert, 32-year-old Wilson revealed he had benefited from sessions with a hypnotherapist during his run to the finals at the end of a low-key season that featured just one tour semi-final. German Masters, in his name.
“You just empty your stress bucket,” Wilson says. “We all have things going on that affect our daily lives, and this has allowed me to go out and have a little bit of freedom.
“Our minds are full of different things that don’t need to be there, so if you can get rid of them and go outside and play snooker, it makes the game a lot easier.
“When he (Gilbert) made a few mistakes in the third session, I thought I had to hit home. That mental battle because Dave could easily knock me off the table. I knew I had to win.”
This was a game effort by Gilbert, a 2019 semifinalist. Gilbert arrived at the Crucible with few expectations after a period of personal turmoil, defeating defending champion Luca Brecel in the opening round and winning four frames in a row.
Gilbert admitted that the loss was easier to accept than the agony he suffered in the final frame against John Higgins five years ago, but he was still a little angry at the way he lost, blaming bad luck and saying he was disappointed in Wilson’s loss. He questioned whether there was a “needle.”
“Kylen played faster, like he thought I was shit,” Gilbert said. “I don’t know if there was a little needle there. I went to wish him luck, but there wasn’t much handshaking there.”
Wilson flatly denied Gilbert’s suggestion, insisting he had “no problem” with his opponent, leading to a much different final than his crushing defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2020, which took place in just one match in front of the arena. I was expecting a fight. – 3rd full due to Covid regulations.
Since then, Wilson has endured a tough two years due to family injuries and illness, but has shown no signs of suffering from last year’s 13-2 loss to John Higgins, defeating Dominic Dale, Joe O’Connor and Higgins. I couldn’t. Relatively easy.
“I’ve changed dramatically,” Wilson added. “Back then, if things didn’t go well, panic alarms would have gone off and my play would probably have deteriorated. But I gathered experience and learned some hard lessons.”