Warrior Shoots Down Captain In Thriller
Kyren Wilson triumphed 11-9 in a pulsating title match with Ali Carter to lift the Shanghai Masters trophy for a second time, ten years on from his first.
World number two Wilson admitted that he was desperate to avoid a decider after flagging following a gruelling weekend of snooker, having already beaten World Champion Zhao Xintong 10-5 yesterday.
The decisive frame swung one way then another. Trailing on the last red, the Warrior fired in a stunning long ball to set up a clearance of 32, which saw him steal the frame on the final ball. After potting the black, he fist pumped and roared with delight in front of a packed Shanghai crowd.
The city holds special memories for 33-year-old Wilson, who captured his maiden ranking title here back in 2015, beating Judd Trump 10-9 in another epic tussle. Fast forward ten years and the event has evolved into one of the most prestigious invitational prizes in the sport, with Wilson pocketing £210,000 for victory.
Wilson looks set for another massive season after enjoying his best ever title haul in 24/25. Having won the World Championship in 2024, he went on to win four ranking crowns to take his current tally to ten. However, the campaign ended in devastation after a 10-9 loss to Lei Peifan at the first hurdle of his Crucible title defence.
After a summer of pondering that defeat, he has bounced straight back in spectacular fashion here in Shanghai. A narrow 6-5 win over Si Jiahui in his first match was followed up by a 6-3 win over seven-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, before this weekend’s wins over Zhao and Carter.
The final proved to be a bridge too far in a week of comebacks for 46-year-old Carter. He rallied from 5-2 down to beat Mark Williams and Xiao Guodong, before defeating Mark Selby 10-8 from 8-6 down. He couldn’t quite overhaul Wilson in the title match.
Carter can still reflect fondly on a tournament he wasn’t even originally in. Ranked 17th in the world he had just missed out on qualification, before a late withdrawal from Mark Allen handed him a spot.
They came into the concluding session locked together at 5-5. Wilson enjoyed the better start this evening, with runs of 48 and 105 helping him to a 7-5 cushion. In keeping with the rest of the match, the resilient Carter replied with contributions of 76 and 35 helping him to make it 7-7 heading into the last interval of the tournament.
When play got back underway, breaks of 66 and 122 helped Wilson to a 9-7 advantage, but a stunning 140 from Carter pulled him back within one. Wilson had an opportunity in the next, after his opponent had made 27. However, he unexpectedly spurned a middle range red and Carter crafted 63 to make it 9-9.
A contribution of 86 gave Wilson the 19th to move one from victory at 10-9, before he claimed victory on the black in that dramatic 20th frame.
“I knew I had to take out that clearance at the end. Fatigue was starting to slip in. I didn’t want to face Ali in a final frame because his success rate in deciders this week has been fantastic. He is a great champion and made it really difficult all day long. I had to summon up every ounce of concentration and composure to drop that long red in and clear up. I held myself together and then you saw all of the emotions”
Wilson added: “This is the biggest Chinese event we have and with the snooker market growing and growing it is important to try and land these titles. I was just starting to fatigue towards the end and to pot the red and clear up was a massive feather in my cap.
“It was a huge kick in the teeth going out in the first round of the World Championship. I don’t have that world title tag anymore. But I’ve carried on in the same form. It is important to kick off the season in good fashion. This sets me up nicely for what is to come. I’ve had to wait a long time to get going again in professional competition, but this was definitely worth the wait.”
Carter said: “It was a really tough game. I felt I hung in there all day. I didn’t feel I played particularly great, but I was pleased to compete with a World Champion like Kyren. I felt if I’d had a bit of a tailwind at some point I’d have probably won. It wasn’t to be in the end.
“For a substitute, I think I did alright! I got through to the final. I was 5-2 down to Mark Williams and I didn’t miss a ball for four frames. I was 5-2 down to Xiao and 8-6 down to Selby. It is pleasing to get to another final. As a sportsman it is all about winning though. All being told I didn’t even know I was going to be here. If someone had said when Mark Allen withdrew I was going to get to the final, I’d have absolutely taken it.”
Article by WST.
