Kyren Wilson v Lei Peifan live stream | World Championship 2025 preview
Wilson begins his title defence on Saturday (Cody Froggatt/Sportimage Credit: Sportimage Ltd/Alamy Live News)
Kyren Wilson launches the defence of his World Championship title against Crucible debutant Lei Peifan on Saturday.
The Warrior soared to an emotional triumph in Sheffield 12 months ago, beating qualifier Jak Jones 18-14 in the final to add his name to the roll of honour.
He now looks to create further history by becoming the only first-time World champion to break the notorious “Crucible Curse” by successfully defend their crown.
As is traditional, Wilson will be introduced as the reigning Crucible king before beginning his campaign on Saturday morning.
The world number two does so off the back of a hugely successful season, in which he has won four ranking titles at the Xi’an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open, German Masters and Players Championship, while he was also runner-up to Shaun Murphy at the Masters.
Wilson has reached at least the quarter-finals in seven of his 10 previous appearances at the Crucible, while his sole first-round defeat came on debut in 2014.
Speaking of Sheffield bows, opponent Lei will make his as one of 10 Chinese players in this year’s draw.
The 21-year-old secured his maiden Crucible appearance by recovering from 9-8 down to edge out compatriot Gao Yang 10-9 in the final qualifying round earlier this week.
Lei has made a habit of prevailing in high-pressure situations this season. Indeed, he beat Murphy, Stuart Bingham, Tom Ford and Mark Allen (the latter from 5-2 down) in deciding frames on his way to capturing the Scottish Open back in December.
Then ranked 84th in the world having only returned to the tour at the start of the season, he became the lowest-ranked player to win a ranking event since Dave Harold, who was 93rd in the world when he won the 1993 Asian Open.
That will certainly stand Lei in good stead as he looks to dethrone the reigning champion, and ensure the curse continues.
A second-round showdown with either 2024 runner-up Jones or former UK champion Zhao Xintong awaits the winner of this showdown.
The match breaks off at 10am BST with the opening nine frames, while resuming at 7pm with a maximum of 10 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
How to watch Kyren Wilson v Lei Peifan live stream
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