Kyren Wilson: The Incredible Steel Warrior Lifts German Double in Berlin

Kyren Wilson lifted the German Master’s title in Berlin over the weekend and lived up to his nickname the Warrior, with plenty of steel attached.

The 27-year-old young snooker star had a week to remember at the Tempodrom, as along the way he had thrashed the World Champion Mark Williams 5 – 0. But it was his steely resilience against Stephen Maguire in the semi-finals and Dave Gilbert in the final that saw him lift the title and pocket the 80K first prize.

He was 4 – 1 up against Gilbert in the first session, but then Dave started to play and Wilson ended the session 5 – 3. But then Dave went on a winning spree of frames and by the mid-session interval was 7 – 5 up on Kyren, whose form had dipped at that point of the match. However, his steely bottle saw him complete a fantastic 54 clearance on his way to going ahead in the match, one of the best breaks under pressure you’ll see from a player. Previously in his semi-final with Maguire, he had also made a rock solid clearance of a 63 break to go 5 – 1 in his trouncing of Maguire after Maguire was ahead in the frame.

His German win 9 – 7 comes as the third-ranking title of his career and he also has done the German double, winning the Paul Hunter Classic in Furth last year in the same season. Kyren’s win comes a couple of weeks after Judd Trump lifted the English Masters in London, as these two younger guards now seem to be a handful of the under 30’s dominating the very top of snooker.

Wilson said after the win: “It’s unbelievable.”

He added to Rolf Kalb, the German Master of Ceremonies: “I’m hard Rolf.”

However, in an interview on Eurosport, he played down his chances of winning the big one in Sheffield by saying there’s a lot of great players that get there – so it’s difficult. He did however say he felt he belonged at the Crucible and enjoyed the bear pit of snooker’s top event.

The Nearly Man of Snooker

David Gilbert, 37, ten years Wilson’s senior said after he wasn’t going to worry about being runner-up again this time, but it was sadly the third time the Derby potter had reached a final but lost. Earlier on this season he was 9 – 5 up on Mark Williams at the World Open in China and let it go. Gilbert’s run in Germany means he’s one spot away from a top 16 place. Wilson’s win secures him a top 8 spot in the World!

No Time to Celebrate or Dwell Now

However, with tournaments being like buses now on the World Snooker professional tour, there is no time to rest on your laurels and enjoy the win or dwell on losses, as 32 players, including Kyren and Gilbert head to Cheltenham for the World Grand Prix where the Warrior will play former World Championship runner-up Matthew Stevens in the first round. These 32 players qualified on the one year list of the rankings and compete for a winner’s prize of 100K!

Women’s Snooker Went to Bruge

Meanwhile, on the World Women’s snooker tour, 11-times World Women’s Champion Reanne Evans lifted yet more silverware in Bruge defeating her rival, Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee 4 – 1 in the final.

🤝 FINAL | The title match at the Belgian Women’s Open 2019 will be contested between top seeds Reanne Evans & Ng On Yee after both survived deciding frames in their semi-finals.

It is the first meeting of the season between the world’s top two players!#Cue4All #WomensSnooker pic.twitter.com/DfNNKuQ4pg

— World Women’s Snooker (@WomensSnooker) 3 February 2019