Kyren James Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering. He has won 10 ranking titles.
Wilson made his professional tour debut in the 2010âÂÂ11 season after finishing fifth in the 2009âÂÂ10 International Open Series rankings. He dropped off the tour after one season but regained his tour card for the 2013âÂÂ14 season and has played professionally since. In September 2015, while ranked 54th in the world, he won his first ranking title by defeating Judd Trump 109 in the final of the Shanghai Masters. His other ranking titles include the 2019 German Masters, where he defeated David Gilbert 97 in the final; the 2022 European Masters, where he defeated Barry Hawkins 9âÂÂ3 in the final; the inaugural 2024 Xi'an Grand Prix, where he defeated Trump 10âÂÂ8 in the final; the 2024 Northern Ireland Open, where he defeated Trump 9âÂÂ3 in the final; and the 2025 German Masters, where he defeated Hawkins 10âÂÂ9 in the final. He also won out in the 2025 Players Championship defeating rival Judd Trump 10-9.
Wilson has played in five Triple Crown finals, two at the World Snooker Championship and three at the Masters. He lost to Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy in the Masters finals of 2018 and 2025 respectively, both times by a 7âÂÂ10 scoreline, and lost 8âÂÂ18 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2020 World Snooker Championship final. He won his first world title and first Triple Crown title at the 2024 World Snooker Championship, beating Jak Jones 18âÂÂ14 in the final, and won his second Triple Crown title at the 2026 Masters, defeating John Higgins 10âÂÂ6 in the final. He has compiled more than 500 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks.
During the 2009âÂÂ10 season, Wilson won the sixth event of the International Open Series having already finished runner-up in the third event, and he finished the season fifth in the rankings. This gave Wilson a place on the World Snooker Tour for the 2010âÂÂ11 snooker season. In the UK Championship he defeated Paul Davison 9âÂÂ6 and Ian McCulloch 9âÂÂ8, before losing 4âÂÂ9 to Rory McLeod in the third round. He reached the same stage of the World Championship qualifying with defeats of Dermot McGlinchey and Joe Swail, before McLeod once again conquered Wilson this time 10âÂÂ3 in the third round of qualifying. He finished the year ranked world number 72 and did not retain his place on tour. Wilson entered the 2011 Q School to win back his place on Tour, but was unable to do so.
Having dropped off the Tour, Wilson was considered an amateur player and could not enter qualifying for any of the ranking events. He entered 12 of the Players Tour Championship (PTC) events and finished 72nd on the Order of Merit. He entered the 2012 Q School but only won one match over three events. In the 2012âÂÂ13 season, Wilson was again confined to entering amateur events and enjoyed a good run in the PTC Event 4 by beating Tom Ford, Jamie Jones and Stephen Maguire, before being whitewashed 4âÂÂ0 by Ding Junhui in the last 16. He also lost in the last 32 in two European Tour events to be ranked 75th on the PTC Order of Merit. He then turned professional in 2013 for the 2013âÂÂ14 season.
Wilson enjoyed a successful return to the professional game during the 2013âÂÂ14 season. He won four matches in Shanghai Masters qualifying, concluding with a 5âÂÂ3 victory over Marcus Campbell to reach the main stage of a ranking event for the first time. In his first round match against Stuart Bingham, Wilson had a chance to make a 147 but missed the 13th black. Nevertheless, he defeated his much higher ranked opponent 5âÂÂ1 and continued his run with a 5âÂÂ3 win over Marco Fu. Wilson's tournament came to an end in the quarter-finals as he lost 1âÂÂ5 against Michael Holt. He caused another upset in the first round of the International Championship by beating Stephen Maguire 6âÂÂ3, before losing 1âÂÂ6 to Graeme Dott in the second round. He also qualified for the China Open, but was eliminated 5âÂÂ3 by Jamie O'Neill in the opening round.
In World Championship qualifying, Wilson beat Chris Norbury 10âÂÂ6 and then defeated Alfie Burden and Rod Lawler, both by 10âÂÂ3 score lines, to stand just one win away from making his first appearance at the main stage of the tournament. In the fourth qualifying round, he faced the 2006 winner of the event Graeme Dott and came back from 1âÂÂ4 down to trail only 4âÂÂ5 at the end of the first session. His momentum continued into the evening, and he took the last four frames of the match, including three breaks over 50, to win 10âÂÂ7. In anticipation of playing his first match at the Crucible, Wilson described it as a "dream come true" and said that he would like to draw Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round. Dott stated that Wilson could "beat anybody" if he played to the same standard again. Wilson played world number 12 Ricky Walden in the first round of the championship, losing 7âÂÂ10 after a final frame that lasted for over an hour.
Wilson failed to qualify for the first three ranking events of the 2014âÂÂ15 season, before beating Ross Muir to play in the first round of the International Championship where he lost 2âÂÂ6 to Sam Baird. After edging Gary Wilson 6âÂÂ5 in the first round of the UK Championship, Wilson stated that his concentration had been fading in matches this season and would have to raise his game significantly against defending champion Neil Robertson. He did exactly that as he made an 87 break to lead 5âÂÂ4 and had a chance to win in the next frame courtesy of a fluked red, but lost position on the final brown allowing Robertson to level. In the decider Wilson missed a tough opening red and Robertson responded with a match winning 86.
After losing in the semi-finals of the 2015 Snooker Shoot-Out, Wilson had his best finish of the year in a ranking event as he dropped just one frame in his victories over Alan McManus and Ben Woollaston at the Indian Open. In the next round, he was defeated 3âÂÂ4 by Joe Perry. Wilson ended the season as world number 56.
Wilson won three matches to qualify for the 2015 Shanghai Masters and came through a wildcard round match in China, before beating Joe Perry 5âÂÂ2 and Michael Holt 5âÂÂ1. In Wilson's second career ranking event quarter-final he led home favourite Ding Junhui 3âÂÂ1, before Ding levelled at 3âÂÂ3. The match went to a deciding frame, which Wilson won on the final black. Wilson then eliminated Mark Allen 6âÂÂ1 to reach his first ranking final, where his match with Judd Trump went to a deciding frame, after Wilson had led 7âÂÂ3, 8âÂÂ4 and 9âÂÂ7. In the decider, Wilson made a championship winning 75 break to claim his first ranking title. Ranked world number 54, Wilson become the lowest ranked player to win a ranking title since 2005, however he rose to 22nd after the event.
After the Shanghai success, Wilson lost in the last 32 of the two next ranking events: 3âÂÂ6 to Mark Allen at the International Championship and 1âÂÂ6 to Tom Ford at the UK Championship. At the German Masters, after beating Rory McLeod, Michael Holt and Ryan Day, all by 5âÂÂ4 scorelines, he reached the semi-finals, but was defeated 6âÂÂ3 by Luca Brecel who became the first Belgian player to reach the final of a ranking event.
Along with Anthony Hamilton at the China Open qualifiers, Wilson set a new record of six consecutive centuries in a snooker match, four of which were scored by him. In the first round of the Welsh Open, Wilson lost 3âÂÂ4 to Irish player Leo Fernandez. He finished fourth on the World Grand Prix Order of Merit, and at the event he lost 1âÂÂ4 to Joe Perry in the last 16. At the China Open he was knocked out 5âÂÂ1 in the second round by Rod Lawler. Wilson came through World Championship qualifying and then edged out Joe Perry 10âÂÂ9 in the opening round. In the second round he took a 7âÂÂ1 lead over Mark Allen after the first session and also led 11âÂÂ5, before Allen won four frames in a row. Wilson then took the two frames he needed to reach the quarter-finals and made the tournament's high break of 143 against Mark Selby, but lost 8âÂÂ13. His ended the year at 16th in the world rankings.
Wilson recovered from 0âÂÂ3 down to Xiao Guodong in the second round of the Indian Open to win 4âÂÂ3 and would go on to play in the final after eliminating Nigel Bond 4âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals. He faced Anthony McGill and was tied at 2âÂÂ2 at the interval, but McGill pulled away to triumph 5âÂÂ2. In the fourth round of the Northern Ireland Open, Wilson was 3âÂÂ0 up before his opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan restricted him to one pot as he levelled with three successive centuries. Wilson held his nerve to win 4âÂÂ3 and then beat Mark Williams 5âÂÂ4. In the semi-finals he lost 2âÂÂ6 to Mark King. Wilson played in the Masters for the first time and was eliminated 6âÂÂ3 by Ding Junhui.
Wilson overcame Ding 5âÂÂ1 in the quarter-finals of the China Open, but never got ahead of Mark Selby in a 6âÂÂ4 semi-final defeat. Wilson was a seeded player at the World Championship for the first time and battled past David Grace 10âÂÂ6 in the opening round. He had a great start against Stuart Bingham in round two as he won the first five frames and he went on to reach the quarter-finals of the event for the second year in a row with a 13âÂÂ10 win. The tip of Wilson's cue split at 3âÂÂ3 and John Higgins would progress 13âÂÂ6.
Wilson made his first official maximum break against Martin Gould in the second round of the International Championship, but eventually lost 5âÂÂ6. In January 2018, Wilson reached the final of the Masters, becoming the first person born in the 1990s to appear in any Triple Crown final. He was beaten by Mark Allen in a close match. Wilson also reached two ranking finals that season, losing to Ding Junhui and Ronnie O'Sullivan. At the World Championship as he reached the semi-finals (beating Allen 13âÂÂ6 in the last eight) before losing 13âÂÂ17 to John Higgins. Wilson made a 140 break in frame seven, after which the match was delayed for a time when he suffered a nosebleed.
In August 2018, Wilson claimed his second ranking event title at the Paul Hunter Classic, defeating 2002 World Champion Peter Ebdon 4âÂÂ2 in the final. In September, he won his second consecutive tournament, the non-ranking Six-red World Championship, defeating Ding Junhui in the final 8âÂÂ4. He then reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters where, after tying the match at 6âÂÂ6, he lost 6âÂÂ10 to defending and eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
At the Champion of Champions tournament in November, Wilson beat world champion Mark Williams and Judd Trump by dropping only a frame in each match, before defeating Masters champion Mark Allen to face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. O'Sullivan led 5âÂÂ1 and 8âÂÂ5, but Wilson pulled back to lead 9âÂÂ8 before eventually losing 9âÂÂ10. In the Northern Ireland Open, Wilson played a seven-frame match that lasted over three hours, against Lee Walker (whose average shot time was 38 seconds), losing 3âÂÂ4 in the deciding frame. He then reached the quarter-final stage of the UK Championship, losing 1âÂÂ6 to Stuart Bingham.
He won the German Masters in February 2019, beating David Gilbert 9âÂÂ7 in the final. Having trailed 5âÂÂ7, Wilson recovered to win the last four frames of the match for his third ranking title. He made quarter-final appearances at three further ranking events before the end of the season, at the World Grand Prix, the Tour Championship, and the World Championship.
Defending his title at the Paul Hunter Classic in August 2019, Wilson finished runner-up after a 3âÂÂ4 defeat to Barry Hawkins in the final. Leading the match 3âÂÂ2 and needing only a couple of pots to retain the title, Wilson broke down on 57, allowing Hawkins to force a deciding frame which he won. At the quarter-final stage of the Shanghai Masters in September, Wilson led 5âÂÂ1 against defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and was just one frame away from progressing to the next round, but then lost five straight frames and the match 5âÂÂ6. He reached the semi-finals of the World Open in October, losing 5âÂÂ6 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
After losing to Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals of the 2020 Masters, where he led 4âÂÂ1 before being defeated 4âÂÂ6, Wilson beat defending champion Judd Trump 4âÂÂ3 in the second round of the World Grand Prix in February 2020; he then defeated John Higgins in the quarter-finals 5âÂÂ4, before being knocked out in the semi-finals by Neil Robertson 4âÂÂ6. The following week, he reached the final of the Welsh Open; despite inflicting a 5âÂÂ0 quarter-final whitewash on defending champion Neil Robertson, and making his second competitive 147 along the way, he was heavily defeated in the final by Shaun Murphy 9âÂÂ1. He was runner-up at the 2020 Gibraltar Open in March; after defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Mark Williams, both 4âÂÂ0, en route to the final, he missed out on the title with a 3âÂÂ4 defeat to Judd Trump.
The 2020 World Snooker Championship was delayed by three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Wilson received a bye for the first round due to Anthony Hamilton withdrawing from the tournament. Wilson defeated Martin Gould in the second round, defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, and Anthony McGill 17âÂÂ16 in the semi-finals after fluking a match-winning . He was visibly emotional during his semi-final victory and later apologised to McGill for having won the match on a fluke.
He played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. The first session was of poor standard, possibly due to both players reeling from narrow victories in their semi-finals, both ending with a deciding frame. Wilson trailed 2âÂÂ6 after the first session and 2âÂÂ8 in the second, but found form to reduce his deficit to 7âÂÂ9. The day ended with O'Sullivan leading 10âÂÂ7, after Wilson missed a crucial red along the cushion that would probably have led to him winning the 17th frame. He started strongly in the third session with a break of 73 but then lost eight successive frames and lost the final 8âÂÂ18.
Wilson started the new season as world number 6. At the European Masters, he got through the first rounds to play against Judd Trump at the quarter-final stage. In this best-of-nine match, Trump won the first four frames; Kyren then halved the deficit to 2âÂÂ4, but Trump's century in the seventh frame meant the end of the tournament for Wilson. The two met again a few weeks later at the 2020 English Open, also in the quarter-final. In this match as well, Kyren fell short and eventually lost 1âÂÂ5 to eventual champion Trump.
In the 2020 Championship league, which was a ranking tournament for the first time in this season, Kyren topped all three group stages to reach his tenth ranking final. He played against world number one Judd Trump for the third time in just a few weeks. In this best-of-five match, Wilson claimed the first frame, but Trump responded with a break of 118 to level the match. Kyren then regained the lead and eventually won the match 3âÂÂ1 with a break of 88 in the fourth frame, to claim his fourth ranking event victory.
In the 2021 Masters, Wilson beat debutant Gary Wilson 6âÂÂ2 in the opening round, before losing 5âÂÂ6 to David Gilbert in the quarter-finals. Wilson met Gary Wilson again in the first round of the World Championship, coming from 1âÂÂ5 down to an eventual 10âÂÂ8 victory. In the second round, he beat Barry Hawkins 13âÂÂ10, before recovering from 1âÂÂ4 and 2âÂÂ5 down against Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, winning the last five frames to win 13âÂÂ8. In the semi-finals, Wilson faced Shaun Murphy and, having produced three century breaks to lead 6âÂÂ2, he extended his lead to 10âÂÂ4, making a fourth century break in the process. However, Wilson won just two more frames, as Murphy fought back to close the match 17âÂÂ12. Wilson finished the season ranked sixth.
In the 2021âÂÂ22 snooker season, Wilson attempted to win his third Championship League in a row, but was eliminated in the third group stage without winning a match in that group. He then reached consecutive semi-finals at the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship. At the former he recorded victories over Jordan Brown and Neil Robertson, before being whitewashed 6âÂÂ0 by Judd Trump. At the UK Championship, he won 6âÂÂ5 in a final frame decider against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals, before losing 4âÂÂ6 to Luca Brecel in the semi-finals. After a 1âÂÂ6 defeat to Trump in the quarter-finals of the Masters, he reached his first ranking final of the season at the Gibraltar Open where he lost 2âÂÂ4 to Robert Milkins. At the World Championship, Wilson defeated Ding Junhui 10âÂÂ8 in the first round, before losing 9âÂÂ13 to Stuart Bingham in the last 16.
After three draws in the Championship League first group stage, Wilson won his first ranking title for almost two years after winning the European Masters. He recorded victories over Lyu Haotian, Jimmy Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Si Jiahui and Ali Carter, before defeating Barry Hawkins 9âÂÂ3 in the final. Afterwards he credited his dad with helping him to win. After this victory he reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open, losing 3âÂÂ5 to Gary Wilson from 3âÂÂ1 ahead after having a "heated exchange" with his opponent during the interval; and the German Masters where he lost 2âÂÂ5 to Tom Ford. After losing 3âÂÂ6 to Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals of the Players Championship, he reached his second ranking event final of the season, the Tour Championship, where he was again defeated by Murphy, this time by a score of 10âÂÂ7 despite Wilson having an early lead of 4âÂÂ0. At the World Championship, Wilson recorded a maximum break in the fifth frame of his 10âÂÂ5 first round victory over Ryan Day. He exited in the next round after a disappointing 2âÂÂ13 defeat to John Higgins.
Wilson started the 2023âÂÂ24 season with just one defeat in his opening 10 matches (a group match loss to Chris Wakelin in the Championship League), before losing 3âÂÂ5 to John Higgins in the quarter-final of the European Masters where he was defending champion. He did not progress as far in another tournament until the German Masters in February 2024 where he lost 3âÂÂ6 to Si Jiahui in the semi-finals. He also reached the quarter-final of the World Open where he lost 2âÂÂ5 to Judd Trump. At the World Championship, Wilson attempted a maximum break for the second consecutive year but missed the 12th red during his first-round match against Dominic Dale; he proceeded to win the match 10âÂÂ1. In the second round, he beat debutant Joe O'Connor 13âÂÂ6, before reversing his fortunes from the previous season by defeating John Higgins 13âÂÂ8 in the quarter-finals. He then beat David Gilbert 17âÂÂ11 in the semi-finals to reach his second World Championship final. There he managed to defeat Jak Jones 18âÂÂ14 to earn his first world title.
In the first half of the 202425 season, Wilson won two ranking events, the Xi'an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open. Wilson defeated Trump in both finals by the scores of 108 and 93 respectively. In November, Wilson reached the semi-final of the 2024 UK Championship but was defeated 26 by Judd Trump. In January 2025, Wilson reached the final of the 2025 Masters but was defeated 710 by Shaun Murphy at the Alexandra Palace.
In February, Wilson won the 2025 German Masters in Berlin. He defeated Barry Hawkins in the final 109 to win his ninth career ranking title. Wilson won his fourth ranking event of the season at the Players Championship, winning 109 against Trump. Victory secured the tenth ranking event win of his career, and moved him level with Jimmy White on the all time list. Wilson was unable to defend his world title at the 2025 World Championship, losing in the first round 910 to Lei Peifan. Wilson became the 20th consecutive first-time champion to fail to defend their title since the event moved to the Crucible in 1977.
After the season Wilson has been chosen as the winner of the Journalistsâ Player of the Year award and included into the WST Hall of Fame for his World Championship win a year prior.
In August, Wilson was victorious at the Shanghai Masters, scoring five centuries in the final to defeat Carter 119. In January 2026, Wilson won the Masters, his second triple crown title, after defeating John Higgins 106 in the final. It was his first Masters title having lost two previous finals in the competition.
Wilson and his wife Sophie have two sons.
He is a Chelsea F.C. supporter and is close friends with darts player Ricky Evans.