Kyren and Anthony scored 186 points in the deciding frame and broke the Crucible record.
The disparity between different parts of the grid at the World Snooker Championship was the main theme of the first round among fans and experts. Top of the serious contenders remained the leader of the rating Judd Trump and the indestructible John Higgins, and from the bottom the clashes of the titans began: Ronnie O’Sullivan dealt with Dean Junhui and Mark Williams, who, in turn, beat Stewart Bingham, Mark Selby tortured Robert with tactical struggle, and Neil previously knocked out Barry Hawkins. The semi-final at the bottom of the bracket turned out to be appropriate – it seemed that Rocket and Selby were determining the winner of the tournament, and the decisive match would turn into a formality.
Amid the great confrontation of multiple world champions from the second semi-final against hard-working wagon Wilson and red-haired fighter Anthony McGill, something dull and mediocre was expected: the players lacked neither the charisma nor the skill to match Ronnie and Mark, and then surpass one of them in the final. … In the quarterfinals, Kyren realized the Crucible curse and stripped Trump of his debut title, and for McGill, the tournament turned out to be a military campaign, but for these two to exceed expectations, something special was required.
World championship
Ronnie cuts a difficult red and races past Selby to the final
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Fans underestimated the importance of the match for the players: while Ronnie and Selby were figuring out who would get a chance for another title, Kyren and McGill fought for a performance in the main match of their careers. For Wilson, the final would be the logical result of years of progress: he won three rating tournaments, settled in eighth place in the rating and already reached the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018, but did not cope with the mighty Higgins. Anthony became the main sensation of the tournament due to his incredible concentration after a disastrous segment – the winner of rating tournaments first dropped out of the top 16, and then completely dropped to 39th place. It is almost impossible for the qualifier to win the Crucible, so McGill’s triumph against Wilson would make him one of the greatest finalists.
The character of both snooker players predetermined the outrageous mood for the match. Because of the psychological pressure at the World Cup, it is easy to break down even without spectators, but Kyren and Anthony seemed to specially prepare for just such an environment – both held the tournament seriously and focused, without breakdowns and panic. McGill almost got into a skirmish with Jamie Clark in the second round, but that episode only motivated the Scotsman – after that he bounced back with 2: 8 and won the match. Previously, the red-haired strong man was considered an eccentric humorist, but at this tournament he appeared different – even off the table McGill frightened him with an evil, unblinking look at one point.
Wilson has long been praised for his poise, mentality and composure – it is no coincidence that he was nicknamed the Warrior and is considered Peter’s heir. Ebdona. With such a background of rivals, it is not surprising that the first sessions of the semi-finals turned out to be mirrored: first McGill scored 6: 2 with an amazing game, then Kyren regained his composure and turned the crushing gap into 8: 8. Since then, their match has been watched as much as the tactical siege of Selby – the less-stellar semi-finals mesmerized by the resilience of the participants.
In the third and fourth sessions, Wilson and McGill took turns finding the strength to respond to the winning wave of the opponent: Anthony made the perfect hundredth break, losing 10:13, Kyren did not give up, losing three frames in a row, even at the climax. When the score was 15:15, commentators and viewers no longer remembered that Ronnie and Selby would come to the table in the evening – they were afraid to breathe loudly or creak a chair, as if they were in the hall.
The favorites’ matches fascinate with beauty, but often turn out to be predictable: beautiful long-range shots, light streaks, reliable wagering. When something like this happens in a semi-final that received little attention from the outset, it is not the level of play that is admired, but the effort of worthy snooker players. In the battle between McGill and Wilson, situations arose several times when any opponent would surrender, regardless of status and number in the rating, but on the third day Anthony and Kyren still fought on equal terms – the thirst to reach the final time after time turned out to be stronger than fatigue.
In the last frames, mistakes did not annoy, but only strengthened the suspense: first, Wilson missed in an advantageous position – McGill cleared the table and stopped one frame before the final, then Kyren took advantage of the Scotsman’s miss on a long shot and transferred the match to a desider. The players were moving so smoothly that even the outcome of the final game could have been decided on an additional black, but everything turned out even more unexpectedly. Having received an attack in an open position, Wilson missed a simple punch. The winning streak turned into an hour-long tactical showdown, where every next move could decide everything.
Billiards on TV is considered a boring sight compared to team tournaments: the players never come into direct contact, but compete in absentia. Tennis is also obviously more spectacular – the opponents do not hesitate about strikes for several minutes and do not spend most of the match in their chairs. It’s almost impossible to convince a neutral viewer that snooker is the best sight on the planet, but there are exceptions when you believe: just walk up to a passer-by, slap on the shoulder and put highlights under his nose to make another fan of men in vests and bow ties appear.
It was in this category that the Wilson and McGill striker fell – the atmosphere at the table was reminiscent of a cowboy shootout on a dusty street in front of a saloon or the Moscow penalty shootout for Manchester United and Chelsea in 2008, only in Crucible the showdown lasted much longer. McGill failed to come out of difficult snooker nine times, but Kyren fouled himself, and it all started anew. After another 15 minutes, the rivals tried to cut off the last red from the board four times – Anthony succeeded, but blocked the green for himself. By the time Wilson dropped a green fluke from four boards and almost burst into tears from emotions, the rivals scored 168 points for two (sheer madness, considering that the maximum series with a free ball is 155).
Other snooker players did not understand what was happening – even the more experienced ones never had to participate in such a match. “This frame is a stunning example of why some snooker players end up in straitjackets,” Michael Holt tweeted. Neil Robertson switched to caps: “YOU PROBABLY JOIN WHAT IS HAPPENING?” The spectators, who turned on the Wilson-McGill match in the background, in anticipation of the snooker Clasico, did not look up from the screens. The interviews of the players after the match only confirmed the greatness of snooker: McGill bravely held on after the most offensive defeat in his career, the noble Wilson burst into tears not only from joy for reaching the final – he was offended for his opponent, because the decisive ball fell accidentally.
It is believed that the best advertising of sports is star matches, but at the unusual world championship postponed due to the pandemic, the meeting of two underdogs suddenly absorbed the best that is in snooker: hundredth series, noble rivalry, triumph of will and character over nerves, unexpected turns and the most unpredictable outcome.