Kyren Wilson won six frames on the trot as he comfortably overcame a meagre challenge from Jack Lisowski in this year’s Masters on Wednesday.
The Kettering cueist trailed by two frames early on but dug deep despite not playing at his best.
Lisowski, making his second appearance at the Alexandra Palace, initially looked relaxed as he raced 2-0 in front with breaks of 56 and 72.
However, the match completely turned in the last couple of frames before the mid-session interval.
Wilson first took advantage of a fluke that helped to hand him the initiative in the third frame, compiling a run of 66 to get on the scoreboard.
A lengthy and scrappy fourth frame saw both players botch a succession of chances, notably a missed pink with the rest from the “Dude” that would have restored his two frame cushion.
As it was, Wilson sunk the last two balls to draw level and the 2018 runner-up gradually asserted his control on the affair thereafter.
A bizarre incident in the middle of the bout resulted in referee Ben Williams being stung by a wasp in the arena.
But despite a lot of opportunities for his opponent it was Wilson who was left buzzing, reeling off the last four frames to complete what transpired to be a routine win.
The way the fixture materialised clearly underlined the difference between Wilson and Lisowski’s careers so far.
While the latter has lost in the three ranking event finals he has reached, including last month at the Scottish Open in Glasgow, Wilson has emerged victorious with a hat-trick of titles at that level.
The pair of 28 year-olds are only separated in the world rankings by a few places but Wilson’s far superior temperament is why many consider him as a more genuine threat – especially in Triple Crown events like the Masters.
Lisowski has the A-game that can rival the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump but his back-up plan when things aren’t going his way can look amateurish and is often non-existent.
Wilson, though, moves forward to the quarter-finals where he’ll face either Mark Williams or Stuart Bingham.
The two former world champions clash in the last first round tie of this year’s Masters on Wednesday evening.
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