Kyren Wilson is set to play in The Masters final (Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
Kyren Wilson is preparing to face Shaun Murphy in the Masters final on Sunday. ‘The Warrior’ is aiming to win his first title and begin 2025 with a huge victory.
, 33, is the reigning world champion but has faced difficulty reaching the final at Alexandra Palace. Following victories over top-10 players Zhang Anda and Luca Brecel, Wilson in his semi-final on Saturday, winning the last four frames in his 6-3 triumph.
Murphy in his 6-3 semi-final victory over Mark Allen. However, that , who recently had to contend with complex issues in his family life while competing at the top of the sport.
Ahead of his World Championship victory last year, Wilson revealed that his wife Sophie had suffered a stroke and had also been diagnosed with epilepsy. The couple married in June 2016 and have two sons.
His wife was forced to surrender her driving license after her diagnosis, which meant Kyren had to cut back on time spent at the practice table. In an interview with , Wilson explained that his wife’s illness had been triggered by their youngest son, Bailey, spending five days in hospital with a suspected tumour, which turned out to be stomach and bowel inflammation.
“There have been lots of things going on with the family. So snooker has had to take a little bit of a backseat this year,” Wilson said in April 2024. “Not necessarily something I’d have like to have done or chosen to do.
Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy will meet in the Masters final (Image: Getty)
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“My wife’s had to surrender her licence because of her epilepsy. That was brought on by Bailey being really ill last year. Off the back of that, it has triggered her epilepsy again. She had a silent stroke.”
There was little respite for the Wilson family, with Kyren revealing that an accident at school had also left his son with a fractured eye socket and broken nose, which required surgery. “I’ve had non-stop hospital appointments with him. But he’s alright, he’s tough as old boots,” Wilson explained. “I’ve been non-stop. I’ve hardly been able to practise. I haven’t really able to travel a lot. It’s part of having children, isn’t it?”
Despite these setbacks, Wilson became world champion last year, followed by winning the Xi’an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open. He hopes to finally win the Masters after finishing runner-up in 2018, and he appears unfazed by Murphy’s strong sem-final performance. “[I’m going to] try and rub salt into the wounds, he should have had two 147s. So poor from him really,” Wilson joked about Murphy’s win.