Wilson Narrowly Misses Record
With one of the best performances of his career, Kyren Wilson made six century breaks during a 10-5 victory over Ding Junhui to reach the final of the Duelbits Tour Championship.
Wilson came so close to equalling the all-time record of seven centuries in a single match, set by Stephen Hendry during the 1994 UK Championship final, and equalled by both Ding and Judd Trump at the Crucible. His sixth ton put him 8-2 ahead and he had chances in both the 12th and 15th frames for a magnificent seventh, but missed relatively simple pots on 81 then 87.
The Kettering cueman goes through to Sunday’s final to face Shaun Murphy or Mark Selby when a top prize of £150,000 will be up for grabs. Victory would would give him the biggest title of his career so far, and first in a televised tournament in the UK. It will be his 13th ranking final and he’ll be aiming for a sixth title.
It has been an impressive season already for the world number seven, highlighted by his triumph at the European Masters in August. Earlier this week he revealed that his son Bailey was going through serious health problems, but with snooker put into perspective he looks serene at the table.
Ding played his part in a high quality match, making a century and four more breaks over 50
Wilson led 6-2 after the first session, firing runs of 130, 103, 115 and 100, and the 31-year-old raced away to 8-2 tonight with 107 and 118. Ding pulled one back with a 113, but was back in his chair in frame 12 as Wilson made 81 before under-hitting a red to a centre pocket from a tight angle.
The Englishman had a scoring chance in the 13th but missed the green on 33 and Ding replied with 84 to close to 9-4. The Chinese ace pulled another back with a break of 66, but when he missed a difficult red early in frame 15 it proved his last shot. Wilson made 87 and was just three pots from another century when, playing with the rest, he missed the pink to a top corner.
“I’m chuffed by the way I played, especially against a class opponent like Ding,” said Wilson. “The only match I can remember where I played better was a qualifier against Anthony Hamilton where between us we had six centuries in a row.
“I wasn’t aware tonight of the record of seven centuries. I wish I had done because at 8-3, if I had put the mini-butt on the cue instead of stretching for the red to the middle, maybe I would have potted it. I guess Stephen Hendry will be delighted that I didn’t equal his record. I have played great in both games this week and managed to win comfortably.
“It has been a special week already. It has been a tough time for our household recently so it has been great to have the family up here tonight, enjoying it happy and healthy.”