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Reigning world champion Kyren Wilson got his campaign to add a first Masters title to his trophy cabinet started and even donned some special attire for the occasion.
Wilson’s waistcoat for a hard-fought 6-4 first-round victory over Zhang Anda at Alexandra Palace was a designed by 12-year-old Serena, who won a national competition in partnership with tournament sponsor Johnstone’s Paint & STEM Learning.
The natty design, on a bright purple background, featured drawings of açai berries and the structural formula of the fruit.
It ultimately proved to be a lucky charm for the Englishman as he booked a quarter-final spot but was made to work hard by Zhang and relied on an element of luck to secure the victory.
In fact, the Chinese star – who has transformed himself from something of a journeyman player to a mainstay in the world’s top 16 over the past 18 months – bettered Wilson in almost every statistical metric including highest break, total points, pot success and safety success. Of course, the only stat that really matters is the scoreline and the 33-year-old was relieved to prevail 6-4 on that front.
But he revealed after the match that it will be a one-and-done situation with the waistcoat as the material on the front was rubbing against his thumb as he was cueing.
“I won’t be wearing it anymore unfortunately,” said Wilson. “It has just started to burn my thumb – any longer and it would have ripped my thumb to pieces. I’m pretty particular on my waistcoat fronts, it has to be a real soft material.
“Trying to find a waistcoat front that withstand the pressure of my cueing action has been a pain in my backside to be honest. It’s a classy waistcoat, so nothing against it but I’m just a bit of a diva!
“I feel like wearing it was a brave thing to do and I’ve probably received some stick for it. Sometimes you’ve got to do these things – it’s great for the sport, the sponsors and for the children who have designed it. What a great thing for them that a world champion of their sport has worn their design.”
Wilson also planned to restore the blonde highlights in his hair with which he won the world title last May but a mix-up in a barber’s in China meant his whole hair was bleached blonde.
He decided that look, combined with the purple waistcoat, wouldn’t do for the Masters, so his wife Sophie quickly dyed it back to its natural brown colour before this opening match.
Wilson explained: “Nightmare really. Dyed it blonde in China – I wanted highlights but I’ve come out looking like the real Slim Shady! Sophie managed to put brown on it before I came here, so I managed to survive that backlash.
“To be honest, if I wasn’t wearing the waistcoat and I was sticking with my normal colours, I probably would have gone with it. But I thought the purple and yellowy-orange would make me look like the Joker out of Batman! It was hard enough embracing a funky waistcoat without the hair as well.”
Zhang missed chances to win the opening frame although levelled at 1-1 with a break of 85 before a sublime 69 clearance in frame four from Wilson, when his opponent led 64-0, allowed him to snatch a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.
Breaks of 65 and 83 from Zhang brought things level at 3-3 and, after Wilson made another 69 to retake the lead, his opponent cleared the table with a scintillating run of 141 – the highest-ever maiden century break at the Masters – to set up a fascinating finale.
The world champion came out on top in a scrappy ninth frame to move within one of victory and the 10th frame was a similar story as both men had chances but Wilson eventually edged it to reach the quarter-finals at the Masters for the first time since 2022.
“It just shows that stats don’t always tell the story,” added Wilson. “The 141 played a big part in a lot of those stats for Zhang and he scored heavier than me. I was winning the frames with 50s and 60s, whereas he was winning with bigger one visits.
“It just shows I can hang on in there. I think I went for some time without potting a ball at one point so to then get my chance, make a 60 off it or whatever it was, shows you what sort of steel I’ve got.”
