'Well capable of being the first' – Wilson vows to end snooker's 'Crucible Curse'

Kyren Wilson is aiming to become the first snooker player in Crucible history to successfully defend the World Snooker Championship title after their maiden title triumph at the sport’s flagship tournament – ending the infamous 48-year-old ‘Crucible Curse’.

Luca Brecel became the latest figure to attempt and fail to land the historic double last month as he lost 10-9 to David Gilbert in the first round a year after winning his first world title with an 18-15 victory over Mark Selby in the final.

Steve Davis (1982), Stephen Hendry (1991), John Higgins (1999), Mark Williams (2001), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2002), Mark Selby (2015) and Judd Trump (2020) are just a few of the celebrated names to fail in their bid to win back-to-back titles a year after lifting the trophy for the first tiime.

In fact, the closest any player came to pulling off the feat since the Crucible first staged the competition in 1977 is Eurosport pundit Joe Johnson, the popular Bradford player who claimed the title as a 150-1 outsider in 1986, and Dublin’s evergreen Ken Doherty, the 1997 winner.

Johnson completed a stunning 18-12 upset win over Steve Davis and returned to the showpiece match a year later, but this time was denied by Davis 18-14, while Doherty defeated Hendry 18-12 for his maiden victory, but then lost 18-12 to John Higgins in 1998.

“We said we feel we’re in a good position and well capable of being the first one to stop that Crucible Curse.

“I feel I’m quite well-equipped to handle it. I don’t feel like I’m a flash in the pan.

“I’m quite level-headed. I feel I have all the assets to handle any situation. I feel I can give it a good shot.”

Wilson is due to play his first competitive match as world champion when he faces Ryan Day at the Helsinki International Snooker Cup on Saturday, May 25, with Brecel, Stuart Bingham, Trump, Robert Milkins, Jimmy White and Jack Lisowski also competing in the Finnish capital.