Kyren Wilson, who won the world championship at the beginning of May, organized a show at the invitational tournament in Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo.
The biggest invitational tournament in Finnish snooker history started on Saturday in Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo.
The 1,400-seat arena was packed to the brim when the recently crowned English snooker world champion Kyren Wilson faced a Welshman who advanced to the 2nd round at the World Championships Ryan Day.
Seeing the snooker stars was a rare experience for many in the stands, and they had to seize the opportunity. Such a moment was seen in the stoppage of the match between Wilson and Day, when Wilson had decided the 4–3 victory.
A Finnish woman sitting in the front row crept over to the table to watch Wilson’s bagging work, and the English star did not ignore the enthusiast. When there was only the last black ball left on the table, Wilson gave his stick to the woman and asked her to hit the black in the bag (video as the main image of the article).
Although the woman did not succeed in bagging, the audience rewarded Wilson’s gesture and the woman’s attempt with thunderous applause.
– The audience was amazing, Wilson praised.
A new start from Finland
The 32-year-old Wilson won his first career world title at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield, England on May 6.
After that, Wilson had never played competitive snooker before the Helsinki tournament. The lack of play was visible at the beginning of the match on Saturday, but after three sets, Wilson bagged hitting streaks of 131, 118 and 85 points. Day’s best breaks were 95 and 77.
Wilson described the previous weeks as crazy.
– The World Cup drug doesn’t seem to end, but something new comes every day. I was asked to present the World Cup trophy at the stadium of my favorite team, Chelsea, and I received an incredible reception at my home club and in the local pub.
– A party was also organized for me at a local theme park, where 1200 people arrived. This has been one rollercoaster – in a great way, Wilson said.
Amidst the responsibilities brought by the World Cup victory, snooker took a back seat for a while. Mestari said that he focused his energy on his family, which includes his wife and two children.
– It has been a pleasure to take my children to school and to soccer tournaments. Do normal things sometimes.
Hot question about the future
Before and during the World Snooker tournament, there was a heated discussion in the sports circles about the current state of the professional tour.
According to rumors heard by Urheilu from several sources, several top players in the sport have received an offer to play on a closed tour covering twenty players, whose prize pool for one season would be one hundred million euros.
For comparison: in the season that ended, the professional tour of 128 players managed by the umbrella organization World Snooker had less than 20 million euros in distribution.
– I received an offer, but things have changed dramatically in a short time. As world champion, I want to be a good ambassador for snooker. I enjoy being announced on stage as world champion. I’m looking forward to the games on the familiar world tour next season as well, Wilson said.
Wilson dodged a direct question if he believes a closed tour (breakaway tour) will happen.
– I really don’t know the answer to this question. My life changed completely a couple of weeks ago. As crazy as it sounds, since then snooker has been the last thing on my mind before arriving in Helsinki.
As for Finland and special wishes, Wilson had a direct answer ready.
– I want to go for a beer Valtteri Bottas with.
Wilson’s wish can only come true if Bottas travels directly to Helsinki after the Monaco GP on Sunday afternoon.
The final of the Kultuturtalo invitational tournament starts on Sunday at 19:00. To get there, Wilson has to knock out his compatriot in the semi-finals Robert Milkinswho knocked out the tournament’s favorite in the continuation on Saturday Judd Trump.