Kyren is straight into the semi-final action

Kyren Wilson will begin his quest to reach a first Betfred World Snooker Championship final of his career this afternoon (Wednesday).

The Kettering star defeated defending champion Judd Trump yesterday afternoon and is straight back into action today when he begins a best of 33 frames semi-final against Anthony McGill at the Crucible.

The last-four clash will be played over four sessions over the next three days with the winner going on to take on either Mark Selby or Ronnie O'Sullivan for the title over the weekend.

Wilson admitted he is inspired by the success of rival Trump, after beating the reigning champion 13-9 in their quarter-final clash.

The 28-year-old led for almost the entirety of the best-of-25-frames last eight match, producing some of his best form to see off Trump - who has won six ranking titles this season.

The world No.1 made breaks of 72, 100 and 62 to reduce his overnight disadvantage from 10-6 to 11-9 in the final session, but Wilson stylishly closed the game out with a break of 104 to seal his spot in the Crucible last four for only the second time in his career.

Wilson played down talk of a bitter rivalry between the pair after his win, but admitted that overcoming Trump on the global stage gives him huge belief that he can go on and secure a maiden Triple Crown title.

“I’m obviously delighted with the win,” he said. “Really, it doesn’t matter who you beat when you’ve made it to the world semi-finals, but to do it by beating Judd does make it that little bit sweeter.

“I’ve never feared him. If you want to be up there doing the sorts of things he is then you having to be turning these sorts of players over.

“There’s no bitterness between us and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I’m striving to achieve what he has in the game and to have a rival in the sport who’s about the same age can only be a good thing.

“It’s something that keeps us on our toes and is healthy. When I won today he turned around and wished me good luck which was a real touch of class so I have to thank him for that.”

Following his win, Wilson insisted he is feeling at the top of his game, despite enduring a somewhat strange start to the tournament when his first-round opponent Anthony Hamilton withdrew from the competition.

While acknowledging that he is sure to be tested by McGill, the Kettering potter is confident the form he has shown against Martin Gould and Trump so far stands him in good stead.

He said: “Ahead of the second round I was questioning whether I would be able to cope with so long off the match table, and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to manufacture match sharpness through hard work.

“I’m feeling at my best now and this win has given me a lot of belief, although I know I can’t look too far ahead.

“There are still a lot of good players left in the tournament but I can’t wait to get going again. For me the one table setup at the Crucible is the best on the tour and I’m certainly up for the challenge.”

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