After Shanghai Masters glory, ‘world beater’ Kyren Wilson has been tipped to go back-to-back and land the Saudi Arabia Masters title as well.
The world number two was excellent in Shanghai, beating Si Jiahui, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Zhao Xintong and then Ali Carter in the final.
The Warrior brushed off the disappointment of losing in the first round at the Crucible in April, which ended his world title defence on the opening day in Sheffield.
Clearly that one loss to Lei Peifan has not diminished his confidence and former world champion Ken Doherty rates him as highly as any player right now.
‘He’s a world beater,’ Doherty told Metro of Wilson. ‘He’s got a lot of consistency in his all round game.
‘His scoring power now is probably at the best it has ever been, which he’s really improved on and that has made a big difference.
‘He’s always been a good long potter, he’s got great bottle, great temperament. But his scoring power, he’s competing with the likes of Trump and Ronnie and Higgins and all the top break-builders. So that makes him a very, very tough player to play.’
Current world number 113 and both a pundit and commentator, Steven Hallworth, sees no reason that Wilson cannot follow up his brilliant Shanghai win by landing the £500,000 top prize in Jeddah on Saturday.
‘In terms of how he played, I was so impressed with Kyren,’ Hallworth said on WST’s Snooker Club podcast. ‘His whole outlook on the game, how positive he was staying, his tempo around the table and he was super aggressive when he was in.
‘It was a real statement, for me. Obviously Judd Trump is still number one, but he had to come through against Ronnie O’Sullivan and the world champion Zhao Xintong and I think he did that really nicely.
‘He’s laid down a marker, he’s not world number one but for me he probably is the best player in the world right now.
‘Saudi’s going to be interesting, there’s a lot of big hitters heading out there and it’s going to be really interesting to see how that one unfolds.
‘I think Kyren’s going to be the man to beat off the back of Shanghai, full of confidence, starting his season with a big win. I think Kyren’s going to be the one to beat.’
The top 16 in the world join the fray in Jeddah on Tuesday, with Wilson yet to learn his opponent in the tiered draw format.
The 2024 world champ will face one of Iulian Boiko, Jackson Page, Louis Heathcote or the man who downed him at the Crucible this year, Lei Peifan.
Having won the first edition of the tournament last year, Trump is looking to continue an unbeaten record in the event when he joins the action on Tuesday.
The world number one was beaten in the Shanghai quarter-finals by Mark Selby and hopes to bounce back by defending his title in Jeddah and landing the £500,000 again.
Trump will begin his campaign against Noppon Saengkham, Gong Chenzhi, Matt Selt or Oliver Lines.