Kyren Wilson opens up on struggles following first-round comeback victory over Stan Moody at World Championship: 'I hate my cue'

The 2024 champion told TNT Sports that he ”hates” his cue and revealed that he tried a new cue just an hour before the evening session of Monday’s first-round match.

Wilson had trailed the 19-year-old debutant Moody 6-3 after the opening session but roared back to win seven straight frames and set up a clash with Mark Allen in the second round, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

”Just hate my cue, fighting it all the time," Wilson said. "I changed my tip this evening. I had another cue up with me. I tried that at about 6pm. Paul Curran, who actually works with Mark Allen from Northern Ireland, he’d come and put me a new tip on.

”I just had to change something, because, yeah, sometimes just something can just give you a little bit of confidence. So, I wasn't prepared to carry on tonight with how this morning went. I would rather throw caution to the wind and give myself a chance.

"The one thing that I will do is try and make myself very difficult to beat, because I just want to win."

Wilson had a similar complaint when he suffered defeat to Elliot Slessor in the first round of the UK Championship back in December, saying he wanted "the ground to swallow me up".

However, he bounced back in spectacular fashion to to beat John Higgins 10-6 and claim the Masters trophy in January.

"What's happened has really set me back this season. I felt like I was right at the top of the game. I've really had to dig deep to try and get back to where I was," Wilson continued.

"Every single shot, I'm just not sure what's going to happen. I'm just trying to go back to the basics, trust my technique, trust the fact that I am a winner, and I know I can win. I won the Masters with that cue, so I know I can do it, but I just feel like it's limiting my ability.

"I've got no strength on my bridge hand, and the cue is just far too whippy, so I've got no control. I'm kind of just hoping that it's going to react the way I want it to. It's the position I'm in.

"You know, I can't do much about it. I'm trying. It's the World Championship, you've got to give it all you've got."

The cue Wilson used in his 2024 World Championship triumph broke at the start of this season while it was being refurbished.

"My cue that broke was quite strong," Wilson explained. "There was a little bit of flex in it, enough for me to get the control.

"But I could really hit through every single shot, and the white wouldn't react like in a strange way, I could trust where it was going to go. So if you give me, like a 50 clearance that I've got to make, I'm backing myself to do it, whereas now I'm guessing and I'm praying, and I'm having to go back to just like my basics, my pre-shot routine, and just trust that I can do it.

"It's not an excuse, it's a pure fact. You know, I've donated my cue to charity that broke, you know, the proofs in the pudding. I've gone and won the Masters with the cue that I am using now, you know, and I'm still saying it's not right.

"If you can win the second biggest tournament and say something's not right, you're not fibbing."

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You can watch every day of the 2026 World Snooker Championship live on TNT Sports. It is available both live and on-demand on HBO Max