Kyren Wilson hits out at “unprofessional” Shaun Murphy following Masters final fallout
Wilson departs the arena (Photo credit: Zac Goodwin/Alamy)
Kyren Wilson has branded Shaun Murphy’s conduct ahead of The Masters final as “unprofessional” on the eve of the World Snooker Championship.
Murphy prevailed 10-7 in the final at Alexandra Palace in January to claim his second Masters title, and Wilson’s post-match comments towards his opponent prompted a backlash on social media.
Wilson called Murphy an “old man” and claimed he “needed the win more” in his live post-match interview in the arena.
However, the Kettering cueist has defended his comments ahead of his World Championship title defence at The Crucible, offering some context to events three months ago.
“I think, if people knew the story, people would understand and probably actually applaud me almost for what went on in that final,” Wilson told TNT Sports.
“Shaun knows full well what happened before the evening session of the Masters final.
“I don’t want to bad mouth anyone, but what he did before the evening session was uncalled for and quite unprofessional.
“There might have been a few [salty comments]. We live and learn. I disagree with something that Shaun did during that final, but I’m not taking anything away from him.
“He played so well during that week. He was really classy.”
Wilson is bidding to break the infamous ‘Crucible curse’ by becoming the first player to successfully retain the title at the sport’s spiritual home after being crowned a first-time World Champion.
The 33-year-old launches his title defence against Chinese debutant Lei Peifan – the reigning Scottish Open champion – from 10am on Saturday.
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