Kyren Wilson has admitted he does not regret his failed no-look shot against Si Jiahui at the Shanghai Masters, even if it did stop him from making snooker history. The 2024 World Snooker Championship winner was pitted against the talented Chinese ace in the last-16 of the competition.
Over the course of their best-of-11 match, Wilson and Jiahui shared six century breaks, equalling Judd Trump and Neil Robertson’s clash at the 2016 Masters, as well as the latter’s meeting with Mark Selby in 2020. After reaching 97 in the deciding frame, Wilson had the opportunity to sink the black and break the record for the most amount of centuries scored in a best-of-11 match. Instead of rolling the black into the corner, Wilson turned his head away from the table and tried to send the black crashing into the pocket with power. His angles were not quite right, as it ricocheted off the corners and away from the pocket. Wilson did not realise the significance of that shot, but insisted he would have tried the same trick even if he was aware.
When questioned about his final shot by the World Snooker Tour, he facetiously replied: “Oh no! I did the silly no-look thing.” The World No. 2 then said: “Especially in China, I feel like the sport is blowing up over here and a lot of it is about doing things a little bit differently to other players.
“So try to have a bit of fun with no-look blacks. The crowd really appreciate that sort of thing and they like to see a little bit of characters from the players.
“Disappointed it didn’t break the record, but I didn’t know that. It was an amazing game to be involved in, every frame had a break over 70 or 80 or something like that.
“It was crazy, but so happy to win it. There’s no chance I’d have just rolled that black in. I’d still do even if I knew about the record.
“It is still about trying to do things differently. We are stepping into a modern era in snooker, and nice to see someone doing things a little bit different.”
Wilson may have finished by trying a bit of showboating, but he was pushed all the way by the World No. 15. The Kettering star trailed 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 but still managed to edge the Shaoxing potter, who recorded breaks of 55, 124, 139, 95 and 127, while Wilson racked up 120, 82, 114, 114 and 83.
Looking back on the match, the 33-year-old, who faces either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Barry Hawkins in the quarter-final, praised his rival, saying: “I don’t think a game can get any harder than that. I think up until the deciding frame he missed one ball. He was relentless and some of the balls he knocks in are frightening.
“I worked hard going into this event, and I’m glad I can see that hard work shining through. That has allowed me to battle back into the game and doing enough to win it. It is nice to still be involved.”