Wilson Victorious In Repeat of Crucible Classic
World Championship runner-up Kyren Wilson secured a 5-2 win over Scotland’s Anthony McGill to reach the last eight of the BetVictor European Masters in Milton Keynes.
The pair met most recently in the World Championship semi-finals last month and contested an epic encounter. Wilson won a 61-minute final frame decider to reach his first Crucible final, where he fell short against Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Next up this week, Wilson faces the prospect of competing against another player he beat at the World Championship. He’ll meet rival and world number one Judd Trump in the quarter-finals tomorrow at 1pm. Trump whitewashed Jackson Page 5-0 to secure his progression.
This evening’s match saw Wilson enjoy a more comfortable victory than his previous meeting with McGill. The Warrior composed breaks of 120, 56 and 96 on his way to establishing a 4-0 advantage at the mid-session.
McGill took the following two frames with breaks of 52 and 75 to remain in the contest. However, Wilson put the tie beyond doubt when he embarked on a 147 attempt. The Kettering cueman broke down on the 13th black to end his run on 97, but that was enough to emerge a 5-2 victor.
Wilson said: “It is a really hectic schedule, so I hadn’t looked at who I was playing. I got a call from Martin Clark, the tournament director, he told me Anthony had just finished and we were going on at quarter-past seven. I realised I had McGill. It is quite soon since the World Championship. You just have to treat it as another game. It is the last 16 of a big event and I’m really pleased with that performance.
“It was an amazing game at the Crucible. The reaction I’ve had from the World Championship has been more about the semi-finals than anything else. It will be a game and a decider that will be remembered forever. It is nice to have been in a game like that.”
Mark Selby staged a tremendous fightback to beat Stuart Bingham 5-4, having trailed 4-1. The three-time Crucible king’s opponent in tomorrow’s quarter-finals will be Ding Junhui, who beat Mark Allen 5-2 this evening.
Leicester cueman Selby has had an unusual path to the last eight. He’s only played two matches, having received a bye in the first round after Michael White was required to self-isolate and this morning after opponent Mark Davis had his cue stolen.
Bingham started fastest this evening, missing the 15th red in a 147 attempt, ending up with a break of 113. Further runs of 132 and 64 helped Masters champion Bingham to establish his 4-1 lead.
However, from there Selby clicked into top gear and surged to the winning post, making contributions of 114, 72, 64 and 54 to claim four on the bounce and seal the 5-4 win.
Defending champion Neil Robertson came through with a 5-2 defeat of Pang Junxu. He’ll face nine-time ranking event winner Shaun Murphy next, who edged past Tom Ford 5-4.
Aaron Hill’s fairytale run came to an end. The Irish 18-year-old, who beat Ronnie O’Sullivan yesterday and Matthew Stevens earlier today, was beaten 5-1 by Yan Bingtao.
Yan’s quarter-final opponent will be Martin Gould, who saw off tour rookie Peter Devlin 5-3.