Wonderful Wilson cruises into Champion of Champions semi-finals
Wilson won 10 of the 13 frames he played on Thursday (Credit: Matchroom Multi-Sport)
Kyren Wilson soared into the Champion of Champions semi-finals, after beating Ali Carter and Zhao Xintong in Group Two on Thursday.
The Warrior advanced to the weekend at the popular invitational event for the first time in five years – and fourth time overall – after dropping just three frames during a dominant day at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
Wilson opened with a 4-1 win over Ali Carter, who suffered a third successive first-round defeat since his victory at the English Open.
The 2024 Crucible king then hit four centuries on the way to a 6-1 rout of world number one Zhao Xintong during a surprisingly one-sided group final, extending his ongoing winning streak to 14 matches.
“It’s got to be high up on the list,” he said when asked how his performance against Zhao ranked among his best career performances. “Playing the world number one, if you don’t play to that standard, you’re probably sitting on the receiving end of that. You’ve seen at 5-0, he’s still made an effortless break to go 5-1.
“Annoying not to go 6-0, I just cued across a red slightly playing for the black – other than that, I think it would have definitely been my best performance, but I’ll definitely take that one.
“Straight from shot one, I’ve gone long red, one visit; next frame, one visit. It can just roll like that sometimes when the balls are spread nicely. You’re playing someone that you enjoy playing against because he plays the game in the right way, like I feel like I try to do, so you can bounce off each other. When you get off to a good start, it’s nice to have the momentum to keep rolling.
“The standard is so incredibly high, so to win 14 in a row is awesome. They’ve been at big tournaments as well, so long may it continue.”
Wilson, fresh from back-to-back ranking titles at the Northern Ireland Open and International Championship, hit breaks of 73 and 72 on the way to a 3-1 lead over Carter.
The Captain stayed alive with a neat clearance of 57, but the Warrior controlled the following frame to book his place in the group final.
Meanwhile, Zhao hit a top break of 85 as he whitewashed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to set up a rematch with Wilson, who he beat on the final black at the same stage of last season’s tournament.
However, the Warrior showed no signs of letting up here. An opening 75 was followed by back-to-back centuries of 100 and 123, before an 86 put him 4-0 to the good at the mid-session interval.
Wilson continued in the same vein with a 104, meaning he had scored over 400 unanswered points. Zhao managed to stop the rot and avert the whitewash with 78, but his opponent controlled the next frame to sprint over the line.
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Champion of Champions 2026 | Group Two Results
Thursday November 12
Semi-Finals
Zhao Xintong 4-0 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Kyren Wilson 4-2 Ali Carter
Final
Zhao Xintong 1-6 Kyren Wilson