Wilson establishes lead over Higgins in Masters final

In the opening session of the final at Alexandra Palace, Kyren Wilson established a 5-3 lead over John Higgins in a strong first step toward capturing his first Masters trophy.

Higgins, 50, who is the oldest finalist at a Triple Crown event since 2006, took the tournament’s opening with a half-century and confidently entered his bid to win the prestigious invitational event for the first time since 2006.

However, the Scot was left with a number of unforced errors that prevented the world number two from pinching the second frame and settling into the match.

After Wilson took the next two frames, Higgins, a four-time world champion, took a scrappy fifth frame and once more demonstrated his renowned matchplay abilities to restore parity to 3-3, where Wilson continued to lead 3-1 at the interval.

Wilson was not denied a competitive advantage in the evening, though.

Wilson made a clear statement of intent in the afternoon’s final two frames, which included a 10-7 defeat to Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen in his two previous Masters finals.

He will be able to draw confidence from one of his 11 previous encounters with Higgins, which will help him advance to the World Championship in 2024.