“In the final in London, the English snooker player beat the Scotsman John Higgins”, — write: sport.ua
At the age of 50, Higgins could have become the oldest winner of the Triple Crown, but for most of the final he was a shadow of the player who previously knocked out reigning world champion Zhao Xingtung and No. 1 Judd Trump.
John made many unforced errors. World number two Wilson won several key frames in the final stretch of the match and took five of the last seven frames at 5-4.
WST. Kyren Wilson and John Higgins Last year, Kyren Wilson suffered a heartbreaking loss to Sean Murphy (7:10) in the final, and also lost the 2018 Masters final to Mark Allen by the same scoreline. However, on the third attempt, the 34-year-old Englishman reached the end and won the most prestigious title among snooker “invitational” tournaments.
Kairen became the 26th winner of the tournament, which was first held in 1975. He won the Paul Hunter Trophy and won the top prize of £350,000.
Just 7 weeks ago at the British Championships, Wilson was in deep despair after losing to Elliott Slessor in the first round. His wife, Sophie, faced health problems, and at the table, Wilson lost both his uniform and his club, which was accidentally broken.
With his usual determination and resilience, he managed to pull himself out of this lowest point by regaining his confidence with the help of a new cue. And now Kyren can celebrate one of the greatest moments of his career, perhaps second only to his triumph at the 2024 World Cup.
WST. John Higgins John Higginsthe oldest Triple Crown finalist, has failed to win a third Masters title, having previously won the trophy in 1999 and 2006, and has now lost four of his six finals.
The Scot also missed out on his first Triple Crown success since 2011 when he won his fourth World Cup; since then he has lost five finals in these three historic tournaments.
A run of 58 points brought Higgins the first frame (1-0), and in the second he scored 51 points, after which he lost position and left his opponent red, awkwardly playing with an extension cord – the bullet did not reach the pocket. Later, he made another mistake, missing the red with the rest, and after this second mistake, Wilson made a clearance of 58 points, leveling the score (1:1). Runs of 31 and 41 points allowed Wilson to win the third frame and take the lead (2:1).
WST. Kyren Wilson In the fourth game, John Higgins scored 58 points, but cut the red too hard in the center pocket, and Wilson took advantage again, clearing 53 points and doubling his lead. The long fifth frame, which lasted 38 minutes, ended after Higgins confidently scored the third from the end of the red in the upper corner and got the necessary points (2:3).
Wilson led 37-0 in the next frame, but missed a difficult black into the top corner, then made a mistake on a save on the penultimate red, giving Higgins a chance to make a clearance and tie the score at 3-3.
Wilson’s run of 103 points in the seventh frame was his seventh century of the tournament and 750th in Masters history (4-4), before he made a 111-point break in the final frame of the session to secure a comfortable lead (5-3).
WST. John Higgins Trailing 3-5 after the first session, Higgins went on a 71-point run in the opening frame to close the gap (4-5). Down 36–48 in the next frame, he went for a risky double on the penultimate red, but the bullet hit the far lip of the center pocket and Wilson capitalized on the error to make it 6–4.
Higgins led 61-15 in the 11th frame but missed a simple black and Wilson got the snooker he needed, then had a chance to clear the table but missed the final pink. The positional struggle ended when Wilson cut the long shot too hard and sent the bat into the pocket, allowing Higgins to score the pink (6:5).
In the 12th frame, Higgins again missed the black from the mark, scoring only 15 points, and a 49-point run by his opponent gave Wilson a 7-5 advantage at halftime.
WST. Kyren Wilson The 13th frame came down to colored balls, and Higgins made a positional error on the brown, leaving it near the top corner pocket, which Wilson took advantage of for the first time in three frames (8:5). A streak of 78 points increased his advantage (9:5).
In the next frame, the Englishman had a chance to end the match, but with well-placed balls, he missed the black from the mark, having 17 points. Higgins, who came from 5-9 down to beat Mark Williams 10-9 in the 2010 British Championship final, gave himself hope with a run of 70 points (6-9).
In the 16th frame, John had an early chance, but scored only 12 points, and the decisive moment came when Wilson, at 44:12, confidently scored a red from the middle distance and added another 24 points, which gave him the victory (10:6).
Wilson also won the Shanghai Masters earlier this season and has already earned more than £740,000 this season.
WST. Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson: “In 2018, when I lost the final, I cried like a little girl and now I’m trying not to cry because it means a lot to me. It is a great honor to share the table with John, he is my idol.
It was a real struggle from the start of the final and I was just trying to be as persistent as John has been over the years. I always give it my all, even when it’s hard, and I’ll fight to the end until I get the trophy. I will be proud of this victory for the rest of my life.
After the UK Championship I thought it was over, I didn’t know if I would ever get back to the winner’s circle again. It’s so important to have a club you can trust, and this week I came here with a new lease of life.
I promised my mother that she would have this piece of crystal on her table at home. I have an incredible family that supports me. People don’t see what goes on behind closed doors, but after UK I was in a bad place and it was my wife Sophie who helped me recover.”
WST. John Higgins John Higgins: “The crowd was great and so were the conditions, but I was helpless. Kyren was a much better player, he completely dominated.
The score is 10-6, but the match was not as close as it seems. It’s disappointing because in the last two Masters finals I’ve played in, I haven’t been able to maintain the form that got me to the finals. It’s Kyren’s night, so congratulations to him.”
According to the materials of the World Snooker Tour
Snooker. The Masters 2026
Final. London (England), January 18, 2026
Kieren Wilson (England) – John Higgins (Scotland) – 10:6
Tournament grid
Award photo gallery: Kyren Wilson
Video fragments of the match