Kyren Wilson was pleased after his 6-4 victory over Neil Robertson sent him through to the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions on Tuesday in Bolton.
The Englishman, a runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2018 when the prestigious invitational was previously staged in Coventry, compiled a hat-trick of century breaks to see off the Australian.
Robertson, who triumphed at the English Open just over a week ago, looked to still be in good form as he overcame Mark Williams in the opening round – becoming just the fourth player to reach the milestone of 800 career tons in the process.
But after fighting back from 3-1 behind to lead Wilson 4-3, the latter shifted through the gears and conjured up a flurry of timely late breaks to move through to the last four.
Judd Trump will be the Kettering cueist’s opponent on Friday, and the Championship League winner will be buoyed after avenging his defeat to Robertson at the Marshall Arena a fortnight ago.
“I played Neil last week in the English Open and it was another cracker there,” Kyren Wilson said soon after completing his win against world number four Robertson.
“I was on the wrong side of that one so it was nice to put in a similar performance tonight and come out as the winner.”
“I was a little bit unlucky at 3-3, I came into the pack off the blue and knocked in a red – it was unfortunately, but I knew I was starting to hit the ball pretty well. It was just about staying focused and waiting for your next chance, and I managed to take it.
“It was a fairytale story for Jordan Brown winning the Welsh Open, so I was really pleased to see him in the event, but you’ve got to put that to one side and get on with the job.
“I managed to obviously get the 4-2 win against Jordan and I knew I needed to improve a little bit against Neil.
“He’s one of the game’s elite, and that’s no disrespect to Jordan but you do need to up your levels to turn these players over, and I managed to do that tonight so I’m very pleased.
“It doesn’t get much tougher (than Trump in the semi-finals), that’s what you expect with showpiece semi-finals. It’s going to get tougher and tougher as everyone is a champion in this event.
“It’s very pleasing to even be a part of it, so I’m really looking forward to that match.”
On Wednesday, the semi-finalist from the bottom quarter of the draw will be determined with world champion Mark Selby in action against David Gilbert, and the winner subsequently taking on either Shaun Murphy or Yan Bingtao.
| Group 1 (Monday) | Group 4 (Tuesday) | |
| Semi-Finalist: JUDD TRUMP | TOP HALF | Semi-Finalist: KYREN WILSON |
| ———————— | ———————— | |
| Group 3 (Thursday) | Group 2 (Wednesday) | |
| Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Stuart Bingham | BOTTOM HALF | Mark Selby vs David Gilbert |
| John Higgins vs Ding Junhui | Shaun Murphy vs Yan Bingtao |
Featured photo credit: @ChampofChamps
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I’ve been a little disappointed by the attendances so far in the evening sessions given the elite players on show. I’m sure it will pick up – final is sold out -but Coventry seemed to be a really successful venue for the tournament. I speak from experience having attended the 2018 edition at the classy Ricoh Arena.