Kyren Wilson’s status as one of snooker’s most promising young talents was underlined by a rise of 40 places on the world ranking list during the 2015/16 season. Analysis of movement up the list over the past year shows that Kettering’s 24-year-old Wilson made the most significant jump, climbing from 56th to 16th. The player […]
via World Snooker Latest World Rankings – The Biggest Movers — newfanzoneblog
Kyren Wilson is determined to continue his rapid rise up snooker’s ranking list and gain a top 16 place in time for the World Championship.
Wilson started the season 56th in the world but has now climbed to 19th, having captured his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters in September.
And he is 18th on the projected list which will come into effect when the World Championship seeding axe falls after the China Open, which finishes on April 3rd. The top 16 will then get an automatic spot at the Crucible, with all other players needing to win three matches in the qualifying rounds at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
“It’s very close between me and the two players just ahead of me, Stephen Maguire and Liang Wenbo, there is less than £1,000 between us,” said Kettering’s 24-year-old Wilson, nicknamed The Warrior. “It looks like it’s going to be a very close race and there are three big events left now. Anyone behind who wins one of those events can jump ahead into the top 16.”
Next week in Llandudno, Wilson will be competing in the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix and faces Jamie Jones in his opening match on Wednesday evening.
He has also qualified for the Ladbrokes Players Championship in Manchester later in March, thanks to a run to the semi-finals of the last qualifying event in Poland last weekend.
“That was so important for me because I’m guaranteed another £4,000 for the Players Championship and it means I’ve got three events left before the World Championship, rather than two,” said Wilson. “Stephen Maguire hasn’t made it to Manchester so it will be chance for me to catch him.
“I don’t want it to go down to one match at the China Open. If I can win a tournament before then I won’t have to worry about it. If I did have to qualify it would be very tough and I think it would be hard for someone to win three best of 19 matches and then do well at the Crucible, because it takes a lot out of you.
“Last year I lost in the first round against Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon. There is so much strength in depth on the tour now that nearly every draw is tough. It’s our biggest event and everyone wants to get to the Crucible so it’s very intense. The year before that I made it to the Crucible and having got a taste of it I would love to be back this time.
“A year ago I was on the borderline of the top 64 and in danger of losing my tour card. That brought a lot more pressure than being on the fringes of the top 16 so I am not as worried now. This season has been a whirlwind for me in terms of the progress I have made. I feel my game has always been there, it was a case of proving it. Only three years ago I was off the tour so if I could get into the top 16 in that short space of time it would be a great achievement.”
The Ladbrokes World Grand Prix runs from March 8 to 13 at Venue Cymru in Llanduno. Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham will be among the top stars competing for the £100,000 top prize.
Tickets for the tournament are STILL ON SALE and fans are advised to book fast as sessions will sell out now that the draw and format have been released. Tickets start at just £10, for details visit http://www.worldsnooker.com/tickets
Snooker ace Kyren Wilson described his record-breaking match with Anthony Hamilton as “phenomenal” after they made six consecutive centuries between them on Wednesday evening.
Wilson won the China Open qualifying match in Barnsley 5-3 after he made four centuries and Hamilton two. They eclipsed the previous record of five in a row set by Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry during the 2003 British Open final as well as Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals of the 2009 Masters.
The heavy scoring started in the second frame when Wilson compiled breaks of 103 and 108 to lead 2-1. Hamilton levelled with 137, Wilson replied with 125 then Hamilton’s 123 made it 3-3. It was Kettering’s 24-year-old Wilson who made the record sixth ton with 100 in frame seven. He then won the match in the next with a run of 68.
“It’s the best match I’ve ever played by far,” said world number 20 Wilson, who won his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters earlier this season. “It was good open snooker and the table was very reactive which made the conditions perfect for high scoring.
“Once a frame was won we were willing each other on to make centuries, although I didn’t realise that six in a row was a record until after the match. I was actually gutted that I missed the last red in the final frame when I could have made it seven.
“Even if I had lost I still would have enjoyed it. Anthony was very gracious afterwards, he wished me luck and we agreed that it had just been a phenomenal match.”
Wilson reached the semi-finals of the German Masters last week and he’s now looking forward to the Coral Shoot Out in Reading this weekend, having also got to the last four in that event last year.
“I really enjoy the Shoot Out, it’s great fun and I want to go even further this time,” said the player nicknamed The Warrior. “I love it when the crowd gets behind me although I was probably guilty of playing to them last year when I had a chance to reach the final.
“Although I got to the semis in Berlin last week I didn’t feel I played that well and I was straight back on the practice table when I got home. I made a small technical change and obviously that was working last night.”
The Coral Shoot Out will be staged at The Hexagon in Reading for the first time, featuring 64 of the world’s best players battling for the trophy and £32,000 top prize. Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and World Champion Stuart Bingham are among the top stars in action.
All matches last a maximum of ten minutes, with a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five minutes, then dropping to ten seconds.
Televised by ITV4, the event runs from Friday to Sunday. Tickets are still available and start at just £15. For details call 0118 960 6060 or visit http://www.worldsnooker.com/tickets
With the penultimate qualifying event – the International Championship – concluding this weekend in China, Matchroom Sport can announce that the final seeded player for the Champion of Champion will be Scotland’s John Higgins.
The current World No. 12 is the highest ranked player already qualified and will take his place in Group One alongside Joe Perry. Currently Ding Junhui is the 16th and final player in the Champion of Champions but that could all change if Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or David Gilbert were to win the International. Failing that eventuality, a new winner at next week’s Bulgarian Open could sneak in ahead of Ding.
The 2015 Champion of Champions takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry from 10th to 15th November and features previous winners of World Snooker-sanctioned events over the previous 12 months.
The eight seeded players are Stuart Bingham, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Joe Perry, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins. The unseeded players are Michael White, Stephen Maguire, Kyren Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Yan Bingtao, Ali Carter and Rory McLeod. They will be joined by Ding Junhui provided there is not a new winner at the International or Bulgarian Open.
Each seeded player will play an unseeded opponent in a best-of-seven group match in the afternoon session with the two winners clashing over 11 frames in the evening. The four group winners will proceed to the best-of-11 semi-finals on Saturday, November 14 before Sunday, November 15 sees a two-session final played over 19 frames.
Group Fixtures
Tuesday November 10, Group 3 (first match at 1pm)
Stuart Bingham (3) v To Be Drawn
Judd Trump (6) v To Be Drawn
Wednesday, November 11, Group 1 (first match at 1pm)
John Higgins v To Be Drawn
Joe Perry (8) v To Be Drawn
Thursday, November 12, Group 4 (first match at 1pm)
Neil Robertson (4) v To Be Drawn
Shaun Murphy (5) v To Be Drawn
Friday, November 13, Group 2 (first match at 1pm)
Mark Selby (2) v To Be Drawn
Barry Hawkins (7) v To Be Drawn
Tickets for this year’s Champion of Champions are now on sale at The Ticket Factory from just £10. Standard priced tickets for the weekend sessions are now sold out, but in anticipation of extra seats being released a waiting list has been set up at http://www.championofchampionssnooker.co.uk/tickets/.
The participation of all players is subject to contract.
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