Englishman Kyren Wilson becomes world snooker champion for the first time

Kyren Wilson has won the title of world snooker champion for the first time. The 32-year-old Englishman defeated Welsh outsider Jak Jones in 18:14 in the final in Sheffield to secure the biggest win of his career to date.

In addition to the silver trophy, Wilson will receive prize money of £500,000, around €583,000. Jones had only entered the tournament as a qualifier and surprised the Crucible Theater with, among other things, a win over former champion Judd Trump.

Wilson follows Belgium’s Luca Brecel, who secured his first world title last year. “The Warrior”, as the Englishman is called, had a confident tournament. His 10:1 first round victory over Welshman Dominic Dale was followed by other clear victories over England’s Joe O’Connor (13:6), Scotland’s John Higgins (13:8) and England’s David Gilbert (17:11).

Even in the final, success was never in danger thanks to a strong 7-1 start. Jones managed a century break with 105 runs, but despite a decent performance on the night, it wasn’t enough to turn things around. With the score at 16:11, a new Black had to decide the frame – Wilson skillfully converted over the boards and then was unstoppable. Delighted and relieved, he shouted a “Come on” into the Crucible when the game was decided.

In the new world ranking, Wilson is in third place. Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen takes first place from Ronnie O’Sullivan, who slips to fifth. Trump is between Allen and Wilson. Runner-up Jones improves 30 places to 14th.