World Champion Kyren Wilson enhanced his already dominant record against three-time Crucible king Mark Williams, beating him 6-3 to make the semi-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship.
The Warrior now leads Williams 8-1 in their head-to-head record. His only loss came in a 6-5 defeat earlier this season at the Champion of Champions, an event which Williams went on to win.
Wilson has enjoyed a tremendous first campaign as World Champion, having already won titles at the Xi’an Grand Prix, BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and the Machineseeker German Masters.
The nine-time ranking event winner says that winning the world title last season has acted as a massive boost of confidence rather than a burden. However, he will have one eye on breaking the Crucible Curse next month. No first time World Champion has ever defended their title at the Theatre of Dreams.
Williams, who turns 50 this week, will now turn his attention to the Players Series finale at the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship in Manchester. Despite having had a strong season himself, he has admitted that deteriorating eyesight is causing him to struggle with his game and says it is an issue he wants to address after the World Championship.
The opening two frames went Wilson’s way this evening with breaks of 58 and 62, but 26-time ranking event winner Williams responded strongly by taking consecutive frames to level up at 2-2.
The next two frames were traded to make it 3-3, before Wilson then made his move. Runs of 61, 79 and 71 gave him three on the bounce and saw him emerge with a 6-3 win.
“It is very satisfying to have that record against Mark. In some ways it makes your life easy, because you know to beat Mark all departments have to be good. He is such an experienced match player that you need to try and craft chances and put him in trouble. I’m very proud I’ve managed to do that over the years,” said 33-year-old Wilson.
“My natural style is finally coming out. This is how I used to play as a junior. I used to be very quick. To take that into the main arena, there is a lot of pressure out there, that is the biggest thing I can take away from becoming World Champion. It has given me that confidence to do it. I believe in the modern era you need that style of play to be successful.
“It has been a really tough draw. Mark Allen, then Mark Williams and now Neil Robertson or Mark Selby. They are two of the form players this season. It is going to be a tough game. Whoever I play I am going to have to play well.”
Wilson Winning Interview