How cue ‘from Father Christmas’ helped Wilson win Masters

Picture the scene. In the dark and grey bowels of the York Barbican, an emotional Kyren Wilson cuts a disembodied and dejected figure.

He also had to deal with a difficult campaign because he was forced to alter the cue he used to win the world title in 2024 after it was damaged in a “freak accident” due to his family health issues.

The Englishman claims that during his most recent defeat at the UK Championship by Elliot Slessor, he was about to experience a “mental breakdown.”

The outlook appeared hopeless.

Then, just six weeks later, Wilson was seen leaving Alexandra Palace on Sunday to celebrate his maiden Masters victory with his family and win the Paul Hunter Trophy.

It’s incredible, I thought. Wilson, who sold his beloved old cue for charity for children’s cancer, said “Father Christmas was very kind to me.” The auction raised £5,250.

There are no negative feelings about what happened in my cue, but it’s crucial to have something you can trust out there.

Wilson, 34, who had previously lost in the final twice, made it third time lucky by becoming the 26th Masters winner.

Si Jiahui, Neil Robertson, Wu Yize, Neil Robertson, Neil Robertson, and four-time world champion John Higgins, who is widely regarded as one of the game’s greatest players, were his closest competitors in terms of glory and a second Triple Crown victory.

Wilson continued, “I honestly didn’t know if I was ever going to be back in the winners’ enclosure,” adding that, “I thought at the UK Championship I was gone.”

I promised my mother that she would have the [Masters trophy] on her dining room table because of how supportive my family is.

“People don’t see what happens behind closed doors, but I did experience some terrible suffering in the UK.”