Kyren Wilson destroys Dale to cruise into World Championships second round

The win was the biggest by any player in the first round for three years, and Kettering ace Wilson now moves on to the second round where he will face fellow Englishman Joe O'Connor, with the match starting on Saturday night (April 27).

Wilson, who trains out of the Barratts Club in Northampton, had done the bulk of the hard work on Tuesday as he stormed into a 8-1 lead, and the quickly finished the job at The Crucible on Wednesday morning, claiming the two frames he needed to seal the victory.

World number 12 Wilson made a century and eight more breaks or more than 50 as he reached the last 16 for the ninth consecutive year.

"It was strange coming back at 8-1, but I tried to keep doing all the right things in terms of what time I got up this morning and making sure I practised before the session," said Wilson.

"I scored heavily throughout the match and that is an asset for me. Even though I haven't had the results I wanted this season, my scoring stats are still good."

Wilson is yet to reach a ranking final this season, but was in great shape on Tuesday as made breaks of 52, 75, 123, 96, 50, 77 and 73.

In Wednesday's first frame he hit a match-winning 65 and in frame 11 he was on target for a 147, which would have made him the first player to score Crucible maximums in back-to-back years, but the last few reds were awkwardly placed and he missed the 12th on 88.

Wilson will now prepare to face O'Connor in round two.

The Leicester player produced a brilliant first round performance of his own to beat four-time world champion Mark Selby 10-6, but Wilson can go into the game with confidence after his destruction of Dale.

"Some players are suited to the Crucible environment and I would like to think I'm in that mould," said Wilson, who was a beaten finalist in 2020, losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

"If I continue like that then someone will have to play very well to stop me.

"Joe O'Connor will be a very tough test, I wasn't that surprised when he beat Mark Selby because I know how good he is. He is also well suited to the Crucible, he has an all-round game and doesn't get fazed easily."

Dale was gracious in defeat, and believes Wilson is a serious contender to claim a first world title this year.

"Kyren's game is in wonderful shape," said the Welshman.

"I witnessed it from my chair and his focus and attention to detail never wavered. He is a contender for the title because he's playing fantastic snooker.

"I never settled into the match, even when I made a century in the fourth frame.

"I was a fish out of water and Kyren annihilated me. In a way I would rather lose 10-1 than 10-9 on the black, because I was never in it."Wilson's second round clash with O'Connor is scheduled for a 7pm start on Saturday evening.