BIG INTERVIEW: Ambitions champion Kyren Wilson targeting more world title glory days

​The Kettering cue star beat Jak Jones 18-14 to seal his first world title at the age of 32 on Bank Holiday Monday, and after a week of deserved celebrations, his attention is already turning to making sure it is not just a one-off.

Wilson has been a man in demand since claiming the world crown, and has done his best to say thank-you to the 1,000s of people who supported him and also congratulated him on his triumph.

He and the trophy have been doing the rounds in Kettering’s pubs and clubs, while Chelsea FC fan Wilson was delighted to be invited down to the club’s training ground on Monday to meet some of the Blues players.

A family holiday to Portugal is also booked, but it is soon going to be time to get back down to earth and the serious business of snooker, with a high-profile exhibition tournament taking place in Helsinki in Finland at the end of this month and the Shanghai Masters to follow in July.

And Wilson’s success in Sheffield last week has whetted his appetite for more.

"I always said that I believe I can be a multiple world champion,” said Wilson, who trains and practises at Barratts Club in Northampton.

"If you set your target on being the world champion and that's it, you are not going to do anything else, you can forget about achieving more.

"So I have always had it my mind that I want to be a multiple world champion, and I think that gives you the leeway to go on to bigger and better things.

"So by the end of my career, I want multiple world titles on my CV.

"I am coming into my prime now, so it is a good time to do it.

"Snooker is on the up, it is becoming more and more popular, there are more tournaments all around the world, so it is a good time to be a world champion!"

Wilson also has his sights set on becoming the world number one – and completing the triple crown of world title, Masters title and UK Championship title.

His world title success saw him rise from 12th to third in the rankings, and he has his eyes on overtaking Mark Allen at the top of the tree in the coming months.

"I think getting to world number one is within reaching distance,” said Wilson.

"I have always thought that if you win that world title, with it being so top heavy, it is always going to rocket you up the rankings and it gives you that kind of shot at being world number one.

"So that is definitely on the radar.

"Also, in snooker the goal for us is to complete the triple crown and I have now managed to win the hardest one.

"Now it is the Masters and the UK Championships that are definitely next on the list.

"I lost in the final of the Masters to Mark Allen in 2018 in a close game, and I have had a couple of semi-finals in the UK as well.

"I have been knocking on the door of all of them, and I think that's why winning the world title was so extra special, because I know how close I have been.

"It was just nice to get that horrible burden off my shoulders."

Wilson, who is nicknamed the Warrior, has now had time to reflect on the tournament as a whole, and is rightly proud of his performance throughout – pinpointing one win in particular that gave him the belief he could go all the way.

"It was a great tournament, and I played some good snooker in the early rounds,” he said.

"There was big pressure on me against Dominic Dale, and I knew I had to play well and get off to a good start.

"I played really well in the game and Dom said some really kind words, and then I had to play Joe O'Connor who had taken out Mark Selby and was on cloud nine.

"I knew that would be tough, but dealt with it really well before coming up against one of my idols in John Higgins in the quarter-finals.

"He demolished me last season (winning their second round match 13-2) and I knew that was going to be a tough hurdle, but I felt all of the facets to my game were there against John.

"My safety, my long game, my scoring, and it has to be against somebody like John.

"I think that was the match that set me up to go on, and I felt like I could win the title from there.

"Dave Gilbert played fantastically in the semi-final but I just managed to break him down a bit in the third session, and then I got stuck into Jak Jones and got off to a flyer.

"After that he got to within two frames of me a couple of times, but every time he did I managed to pinch a frame and then kick-on again.

"I think that’s just down to experience. I remember a semi-final against John Higgins and I was similar to that. I got off to a bad start and I felt I was always chasing.

"But every time I got to within two frames of John, he would pull away again, so I was using that experience."

So did Wilson also believe it was his destiny that he would become the world champion?

"I always felt I was going to win it, and I think you have to feel like that,” he said.

"When I lost in the final to Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2020, it was a Covid tournament so there was no crowd.

"You never know what's going to happen, life is very short, so I was thinking I just wanted to experience it again with a full crowd, and do it properly.

"Then, when it comes along you put that to one side because you have a job at hand, so let's get on with it."

And get on with it, he did!