Kyren Wilson Claims Maiden Masters Title in Thrilling Final

He had his opportunities but was unable to take them and Wilson, 16 years his junior, moved to within a frame of victory with a 78 break. Higgins rallied with a gutsy 70 to take the next frame after Wilson had missed a black off its spot but there was to be no mistake in frame 16. “Right now it’s very raw with the way I played out there, I’m bitterly disappointed. There were that many bad misses they all blur into one. Kyren was by far the better player today,” Higgins said. “But when I reflect on it in a couple of days I had a great couple of wins and I’ve got to take the positives from that.” It was an overdue triumph in what had been a scratchy season for Wilson, one which hit its low point with a first-round exit to Elliot Slessor at the UK Championship at the end of November. He was in tears at the post-match press conference afterwards, claiming he had been close to a mental breakdown at the table. Earlier in the year he had confessed he had been struggling mentally with being away from home as his wife, Sophie, dealt with health issues. The World No2 is clearly in a much better place now and paid tribute to his wife afterwards. “I thought at the UK: ‘I’m done, I don’t know if I’ll ever be back in the winners’ enclosure.’ I was in a bad way at the UK and really, really suffering. It’s taken a really strong woman to help rebuild me,” Wilson said. “I’m trying not to cry now because it means so much to me. For me it was an absolute honour and privilege to share the table with an absolute idol of mine and an absolute legend. “It was an absolute dogfight and I just tried to be as dogged as John has been in his career. I’m glad he managed to give me one for a change.” If the outcome was a disappointment to the crowd, who leant throaty support to Higgins in his bid to land a first triple-crown title in 15 years, then their hero gave them good value in a memorable week in which he beat Judd Trump, the World No1, and the world champion Zhao Xintong. In doing so he rewrote the manual on what might be expected of a 50-something at a triple-crown event. The oldest Masters finalist in history, Higgins never managed to scale the heights he managed in his seismic semi-final win over Trump but he gave this tournament a fantastical plotline. It is incredible to think that his first Masters final was back in 1995. His heartwarming run this time was a reminder that his work at the game’s sharp end is not yet done and maybe it will encourage the others in the Class of ’92 as well. If Higgins can reach the final of one of snooker’s big three events then why can’t Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams continue to challenge again in them too? For O’Sullivan, in particular, a source of inspiration would be handy. In December he was eliminated in the first round at the UK Championship at the start of a week which saw him turn 50. He did not even make the starting gate at the Masters. Time would not appear to be on his side as he chases the eighth World Championship title that would separate him from Stephen Hendry in the history books. But Higgins showed in his run to this final that age is not the barrier that logic would suggest.