Kyren Wilson’s determination to break the “Crucible Curse” and achieve a historic world snooker title double demonstrates his confidence and ambition.
It’ll be exciting to see if he can make history and become the first player to accomplish this feat.
Kyren Wilson has already started planning for life after snooker
Kyren Wilson is already planning for life after snooker despite winning his maiden world title less than a week ago. The 32-year-old earned a hard-fought victory over Welsh qualifier Jak Jones in last weekend’s final to get his hands on the sport’s biggest prize.
Wilson is still relatively young in snooker terms, with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins approaching their 50th birthdays. He is not planning on staying in the sport for that long, though, having outlined his plan to retire when he reaches his mid-40s.
“I don’t think I’ll be like some of the other guys, to tell you the truth, if I’m being totally honest,” Wilson told The Metro. “My wife and my kids have had to sacrifice so much and I’ve seen so many times in life, people building up towards when they retire and they want to sail off into the sunset.
“Then unfortunately they fall ill or things have gone wrong and they haven’t been able to enjoy it. I don’t want to be one of those people. I’ve always said in my head, up to about 45 is a good age to be looking at. We’ll see. That’s obviously a long way off and hopefully I’ll have done enough then to look back and say I’m worthy of the history I’ve built.”
Wilson added that he could seek a move into punditry when he decides to hang up his cue, having already tried his hand in the commentary box.
“Commentating on John Higgins’ game against Jamie Jones, I’ve seen it all from a new perspective,” he said. “You go out there as a player, you feel like all eyes are on you, there’s so much pressure and it feels so horrible sometimes. Sometimes it feels great.
“But to watch it from the comms box you think, what’s the big issue? It’s not as daunting as you first think. And I enjoy it, working with some of the legends, it’s great.”
The Warrior is hoping to win more silverware at the Crucible before he retires
Those plans will be put on the backburner for now, though, with Wilson desperate to win more titles after finally achieving Crucible glory at the 12th time of asking.
“I said a while ago that I’d be disappointed if I only landed one,” he said after beating Jones in last weekend’s final. “I believe I can become a multiple world champion. This first one must be the hardest one to win, surely. I hope it’s the hardest to get off your back. Now I’ve done that, no-one can take that away from me.
“I can build a legacy in this sport and that’s something I would like to have a good crack at now I’ve got this one out of the way. You sort of hunt for your first Triple Crown event and there’s no better Triple Crown event to land as your first one than the World Championship.”