As the ticker tape rained down over the 32-year-old last night as he fulfilled his childhood dream by becoming snooker's newest world champion, Wilson would have been forgiven for thinking back to the bumps in the road which brought him to this point. The boy who was convinced to take up snooker as a sixyear-old by Peter Ebdon has not done it the easy way.
At the age of just 19, Wilson fell off the professional tour after just a solitary season among the elite. He returned to his hometown of Kettering, combining practice sessions with a job behind a bar at Barratts in nearby Northampton, the venue where he used to pot balls and dream of squaring off against the world's best players.
On two separate occasions Wilson tried-and failed - to reclaim his place on the tour at Q School, essentially becoming an amateur player. But as his nickname emphasises, Wilson is a warrior and here, having already fallen short in the biggest game of them all against Ronnie O'Sullivan four years ago, this time, he was able to go one step further and be crowned champion of the world.
This story is from the May 07, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 07, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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