The Crucible anticipation looms large in Kyren Wilson’s household.
A recent morning occurrence has been his four-year-old son Bailey coming down the stairs in full waistcoat and bow tie, announcing his arrival much as his father’s will be in Sheffield this weekend.
His self-styled nickname is ‘the little warrior’, a nod to dad’s own moniker, and he is already showing all the signs he might follow in his father’s footsteps with regular practice sessions on the coffee table after his grand entrance.
“Bailey comes down in the full attire,” says Wilson. “His nan’s a seamstress, [she] makes my outfits and made that for him as well. He definitely has the right attitude for it. He’s very boisterous, confident and theatrical. He just loves being centre stage.”
Bailey and older brother Finley have come up to the Crucible bfore, to watch both dad’s semi-final and final appearances. His wife Sophie will come up, while his parents ought to be an ever present throughout his matches in the tournament.
Wilson himself clearly likes the Crucible stage. He has reached at least the quarter-finals for the past six years, was a semi-finalist last year and lost out in the final to Ronnie O’Sullivan back in 2020. The hope is he can go one better this year.
The world No5 notes: “It’s a very open field, the most open it’s ever been with different winners this year. There’s lots of options and a high standard of snooker throughout.”
To finetune his preparations, Wilson has largely taken himself away from the family. A typical morning involves a walk down to the end of the garden where a garage has been converted into his snooker room. Hours will be spent there in the morning and afternoon plus another two after dinner, aimed at honing his technique and getting mind and body ready for the marathon nature of the World Championship.
“Every match starts with at least the best of 19 frames so it’s a long-winded event,” he says. “You need to tick all the boxes so that your mind and body’s right. I’m on a diet, it’s all about that extra 2 per cent.
“But I think those long matches suit my personality. It gives me time to relax into the event with such a long format. It’s not only that but I just love Sheffield the city and everything about the Crucible.”
It is 24 years now since he beat a former world champion, Peter Ebdon, as a six-year-old at a charity event. Ebdon advised Wilson’s parents to pursue the sport more seriously and Ebdon has been a confidant, playing partner and advisor ever since. He will be in his corner at the Crucible from this weekend.
In the past, the advice would be teaching him new shots but now it is primarily reminding him to be mentally tough and to trust in himself. Every now and again, they joke about their past meeting.
“It’s mad how things happen isn’t it?” recalls Wilson. “But I’ve never looked back since then.”
There have been tough times. His breakthrough came in winning the Shanghai Masters in 2015. He had thought about skipping it to be in Tenerife for his father’s 50th birthday with Finley having been born just a few months earlier.
I had to make it work. Maybe I would have found a way to survive by doing bar work… I don’t know.
His wife went out with virtually the last of their money – about €250 – and lost it while travelling. She rang him in floods of tears. Family members had to all chip in for her even to be able to afford nappies.
“That tournament transformed our lives,” he says. “I’d been thinking to myself just one more year and then I’ll have to look elsewhere.
“I was running out of time and felt a lot of pressure, mainly coming from me. I’d put everything into snooker, I’d kind of lost interest in school. So, I had to make it work. Maybe I would have found a way to survive by doing bar work… I don’t know.”
The results have continued to follow, the trappings of his success equating to a spacious family home and nice cars. Survival and money are no longer the driving force. Currently that is a first world title and upstaging some of the sport’s bigger names.
“It’s what we all dream of and play the game for,” he states on the eve of the World Snooker Championship. “It would mean everything to me to win it.”
