Nerves and butterflies are kicking in as Kyren heads to the Crucible

The Kettering star will be making his ninth appearance at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and will begin his campaign on Wednesday when he takes on Ryan Day in the first round.

Despite not having yet got his hands on the biggest prize in the sport, the Crucible has been a happy hunting ground for the 31-year-old having had two semi-final appearances as well as reaching the final in 2020 when he was beaten 18-8 by the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Indeed, in eight appearances, ‘The Warrior’ has only failed to make it to at least the quarter-finals twice with one of those being last year when he lost 13-9 to Stuart Bingham in the second round.

Wilson will be the number seven seed this year after another consistent season on the World Snooker Tour but he remains adamant that there is nothing quite like the Crucible.

“The butterflies start coming around and it’s the one you really always look forward to,” he said.

“For me, it’s the one on the snooker calendar that is most full of class and nostalgia.

“It’s such a good place to play and I am really looking forward to it.

“It’s really important to have those butterflies and nerves. The day I turn up at the Crucible and I don’t have that feeling, it will be time to look at my career because if you can’t get up for this one, you can’t get up for any event.

“There are so many memories there, created by the greats like Alex Higgins and Steve Davis.

“It’s nice to be creating your own memories at the same venue.”

Having won the European Masters this season and, more recently, reaching the final of the Tour Championship, Wilson will head to the Worlds in decent form and will, no doubt, be on many people’s list as a potential winner.

“I think I’m always on people’s radar to potentially win it now because I have had such a good showing there over the years,” he added.

“I know what I can do. I believe in what I can do.

“I will obviously be going there to try to win the event but it’s just so much fun playing in it, I can’t wait.”