Wilson clinches spot in World Snooker Championship final
World Snooker Championship: Kyren Wilson beats David Gilbert 17-11 to reach Crucible final for second time
Kyren Wilson into second World Snooker Championship final with 17-11 win over David Gilbert at The Crucible; Wilson, who lost in 2020 final to Ronnie O’Sullivan, will face Jak Jones or Stuart Bingham for the title on Sunday and Monday; Gilbert also beaten in 2019 semi-finals in Sheffield
Last Updated: 04/05/24 5:10pm
Kyren Wilson reached the World Snooker Championship final for a second time after clinching a 17-11 victory over David Gilbert and will now face either Jak Jones or Stuart Bingham for the title.
Twelfth seed Wilson, beaten 18-8 by seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2020 final at The Crucible, led Gilbert 14-10 overnight and completed his win just four frames later.
Gilbert registered a century in the final frame on Friday evening to cut his arrears to four and then reduced that to three with a break of 70 on Saturday afternoon, only for Wilson to reel off three in a row, hitting half-centuries in the last two.
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Gilbert endured semi-final disappointment again, having been edged out 17-16 by John Higgins at this stage in 2019, with Wilson now one victory away from a sixth – and by far the biggest – ranking title of his career.
In the other semi-final, Jones leads 2015 champion Bingham 13-10 ahead of their final session from 7pm on Saturday.
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Wilson: I had the pressure of being favourite
Wilson, the only seed left in the tournament, would be the lowest-ranked player to win the World Championship since 14th seed Graeme Dott in 2006.
He said: “Coming into this event, I didn’t have the best of seasons and then all of a sudden everybody is saying I’m the favourite and I’ve got to handle that pressure.
“I’m quite aware of that but Dave [Gilbert] had every right to be beating me as well. Dave’s a classy cueist, hits the ball unbelievably well and I just had to try to stop him getting into his stride.
“It felt like I broke the back of the match yesterday and I was very focused on hitting home the advantage.”
Gilbert: Nothing to feel too bad about
Gilbert’s defeat means he can no longer re-enter the world’s top 16, with four-time world champion Higgins clinging on to his spot in the elite group for next season.
World No 21 Gilbert said: “I’d love to get back in the top 16 – I miss it and I feel like I can be a top-16 player. I’ll look forward to next season.”
On his defeat to Wilson, he added: “It was a very disappointing way to go out because I really believed I could win that game and I had more than enough chances to do so. But good luck to Kyren.
“It’s been a great run, [there is] nothing to feel too bad about, I just lost a game of snooker.
“I just want to thank anyone who was in the crowd last night or today. The reception we got when we walked in felt very special and I’ll always remember it.”
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