Kyren Wilson: World champion targeting UK Championship success

Kyren Wilson says he wants to “strike while the iron is hot” and follow his world title success with more glory at the UK Championship.

Wilson, 32, suffered a first-round exit to qualifier Jamie Clarke 12 months ago and has only progressed beyond the quarter-finals once in 11 previous appearances at the first Triple Crown event of the campaign.

However, he will get under way at the York Barbican on Monday, having already won two ranking events this term in arguably his best-ever start to a season.

And far from being weighed down by his triumph at the Crucible in May, he appears to be relishing all that goes with being world champion and taking his game up to another level.

“I feel like I am coming to the peak of my powers and starting to play some of my best snooker consistently,” said Wilson. “It is coming out on the match table.

“It has been frustrating because it has always been there in practice. It is hard to transfer it over to the match table sometimes because it means so much, but I feel like that is coming now and you are seeing the best version of me.

“So obviously I want to strike while the iron is hot. I love going to tournaments and being introduced as the reigning world champion.

“It is incredible and gives me goosebumps down my back. There is definitely a feelgood factor and I go into my games with a lot more clout now and confidence around me and you do create a little bit of a fear factor around yourself.”