Only a few months after his 30th birthday, Kyren Wilson has teased the idea of mimicking former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg by heading for an early retirement.
The 2020 World Snooker Championship runner-up opened his 2022 Crucible campaign against China's Ding Junhui on Wednesday. However, 'The Warrior' spoke of laying down his arms ahead of his latest run at snooker's top prize, with a desire to spend more time with his loved ones.
"I've got a family that I do want to enjoy at some point," said Wilson, who has two sons, Finley and Bailey, with his wife of almost six years, Sophie Lauren. "So we'll see. I'm not saying I'm going do it, but I love what Nico Rosberg did.
"He won the world title in F1. And he said my family have missed enough - I'm going to step back and not race anymore. So I really liked that. Yeah, obviously, that's a nice position to be in as a world champion…"
Rosberg was 31 when he decided to take his leave of Formula 1 at the end of the 2016 season. The German had signed a new deal with Mercedes tying down his loyalties until 2018, but an unexpected title win over team-mate Lewis Hamilton shifted his priorities.
Wilson won the Championship League in 2020, while he's also clinched Masters titles in Germany (2019) and Shanghai (2015). However, the F1 enthusiast went into detail regarding time missed with family in order to maintain a career in snooker, calling into question what one cherishes most in life.
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"There has to be a lot of sacrifice," he explained. "You do have to be very selfish to play this game. You do have to almost put your family second, so it's hard to do sometimes when you've got young children and family around you. So it's sort of managing that, isn't it? So we'll see."
In similar fashion to Rosberg, winning one of snooker's Triple Crowns may be the moment of vindication Wilson needs to move on. He's come agonisingly close with runner-up finishes in the World Championship (2020) and The Masters (2018), only to miss out on both occasions.
He isn't ready to put his cue down just yet, though, and especially not in Sheffield given he 'loves the Crucible.' That being said, fans should not hold out much hope that Wilson will follow the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins (both 46) or Stephen Hendry (53) by playing well into his forties and beyond.
