Jimmy White has pleaded with world champion Kyren Wilson to take a break from snooker. Wilson has enjoyed a fabulous season since winning his maiden Crucible crown last May.
The Warrior has won three ranking titles, most recently the German Masters, and reached the final of The Masters at Alexandra Palace, where he was beaten by an inspired Shaun Murphy. Wilson will be one of the favourites for the 2025 Worlds when he will attempt to break the ‘Crucible curse’, which has seen not a single first-time winner defend the title 12 months later.
Out of keeping with his season, Wilson produced a poor performance at the Welsh Open, where he surprisingly crashed out to Joe O’Connor in the second round. Snooker icon White believes Wilson showed signs of tiredness in his defeat and believes the 33-year-old needs a break from action before defending his Crucible crown in two months.
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"Kyren Wilson, amazing what he did to win the German [Masters, where he beat Barry Hawkins 10-9 in the final] after losing in the final of the Masters," said White on Eurosport.
"But he looks a little bit burnt out, [he] needs a little rest now to get ready for the World Championship, because he didn't play well in that match [against O'Connor].
"Listen, the way he played in The Masters, he came back in the final [after a slow start against Murphy], didn’t play his A-game, but he’s a tenacious winner, gives 100% all the time.
"Then to go and win in Germany, I just thought even his early matches here... [He] looks like he needs to put the cue away for a week or so."
The door had opened for Wilson to overtake Neil Robertson in the race for the £150,000 Home Nations Series bonus, but he was unable to capitalise as he went down 4-3 to O’Connor in Llandudno. Robertson will take that bonus unless Luca Brecel wins the Welsh Open.
The rejuvenated Belgian has reached the semi-finals, where he faces Mark Selby in a repeat of the 2023 World Championship final. Ali Carter meets Stephen Maguire in the other last-four clash in north Wales.