Wilson and Higgins reach Masters quarter-finals

Former world champion Kyren Wilson put his UK Championship disappointment behind him with some superb snooker to defeat China’s Si Jiahui 6-2 and move into the Masters quarter-finals.

At last month’s UK Championship in York, Wilson – using a replacement cue after his one had been damaged – was in tears after his 6-4 round-one loss to Elliot Slessor and said he had been “close to a mental breakdown”.

But Wilson, the 2024 world champion and 2025 Masters runner-up, has found a new cue which he has been using for a month and looked happy, confident and rejuvenated at Alexandra Palace.

In the evening session, two-time champion John Higgins moved into a 16th Masters quarter-final with a 6-2 success over Barry Hawkins to set up a last-eight tie against reigning world champion Zhao Xintong.

Higgins’ victory continued a remarkable run at this year’s Masters, where all six matches have ended 6-2.

Earlier on Tuesday, Wilson had been trying for a maximum 147 in the second frame of his match, potting 10 reds and 10 blacks before his attempt ended at 80.

Si, a former World Championship semi-finalist, trailed 3-2 in an entertaining match, before England’s Wilson pulled clear to win three frames in a row.

He made the 545th century of his career in frame seven with an effort of 101, getting to three figures with an audacious no-look shot on the black, and then followed that with another century, a 105, to seal the victory.

It has been a tough few months for Wilson after the cue he used to win the world title in May 2024 was damaged while being refurbished at the start of this season, with a six-inch piece being snapped off the end.

Wilson called the incident “a freak accident totally out of my control” and one that had “ruined the cue I was conquering the world with”.

Following his first-round UK loss to Slessor, Wilson said: “I’m just very lost. You were very close to seeing someone have a mental breakdown out there.

“I wanted the world to swallow me up as soon as I missed the pink in the first frame. It’s been a nightmare. I gave it my all – but I just knew I couldn’t win.”

Since then, he has begun using a new cue, but only reached round three at the Scottish Open, losing to world number 68 Chang Bingyu.

Wilson, 34, did also play in the Championship League earlier this month – and looked back to his best at Alexandra Palace in his first match in a Triple Crown event since that loss to Slessor.

“It has been a really tough time so I thank you for all your love you have given me, it really lifted me,” Wilson told the London crowd after Tuesday’s match.

“This venue can bring the best out of you. I still have a lot of time in this game so hopefully I can conquer this venue for a long time.”

On his cue woes at the UK Championship, Wilson added: “I had to put a ferrule and a tip on the cue on the day of my first-round match and it got to boiling point when I felt I had let people down.

“I had a bit of a hissy fit at the end of that game. I’m over that now and I’ve got a cue that I’ve been playing with since the Scottish Open and I’m very happy with it.”

Wilson, who will meet either Australia’s Neil Robertson or England’s Chris Wakelin in the next round, added: “When you go out there and can’t trust what you’re using, you have no chance.

“I think this cue is better because there’s a bit more power, a bit more whip and it’s about learning how to control that – I’ve had a month to get used to it, I’ve had to modify my cue action.”

Si, 23, played his part in an entertaining game with a break of 97 in frame three, although he was unable to join compatriots Wu Yize, Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong in the last eight.

In Tuesday night’s session, 50-year-old Higgins was in excellent form as he made six half-century breaks – 50, 71, 53, 99, 58 and 61 – to see off two-time Masters runner-up Hawkins.

The Englishman took the opening frame following a break of 58, but then let a 46-0 advantage slip in the third frame as the Scot took control.

Hawkins, 46, went almost an hour without potting a ball as Higgins, the 1999 and 2006 Masters winner, produced some superb long pots before sealing victory.

“I was delighted with the way I hit the ball,” said Higgins. “Even at the start, I felt good in myself and Barry didn’t play as well as he can, but I’m delighted to beat someone as good as him.

“I was probably seen as a decent draw for Barry but when I play like that he will be thinking: ‘How has he done that?’

On his quarter-final match on Thursday with Zhao, the first Asian player to win the World Championship, Higgins added: “I will have to produce that standard again to beat him because he is an unbelievable player.”

A disappointed Hawkins added: “John played brilliantly. I missed a black in the third frame and he cleared up. From then on he never looked back and played so strong.”