Kyren Wilson has banned himself from flashy no-look shots when the pressure is on - admitting his wife 'would kill me' if he does it again.
The world No 2 is heading home from China £210,000 richer after winning the Shanghai Masters with a hard-fought 11-9 victory over Ali Carter on Sunday.
But Wilson raised eyebrows earlier in the tournament when he tried a no-look shot on the final black during a dramatic 6-5 second-round win over Si Jiahui.
Sitting on a break of 97 in a frame he had already secured, Wilson turned his head away and attempted to pot the black without looking in an attempt to entertain the crowd.
Kyren Wilson has banned himself from flashy no-look shots when the pressure is on - admitting his wife 'would kill me' if he does it again
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The trick shot missed, denying him a century and what could have been the seventh century of the match, a record for an 11-frame contest.
Unbeknownst to Wilson at the time, a successful pot would have written his name into the record books.
Reflecting on the moment, the 33-year-old Kettering star had no regrets, saying it was all about 'having a bit of fun' and showing a different side to the game.
However, speaking to The Sun, he admitted there’s no chance he’d take that kind of risk if a title or serious prize money was on the line.
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“Every ounce of me would love to say, yes, I’ll do it again. But, no," Wilson said.
“At the end of the day, I’m a professional. I wouldn’t do it in a winning moment.
"It’s all well and good doing it on a century, but no, I couldn’t do it in a winning moment. Not if there was a trophy on the line.
“Not only that, I think my wife would kill me. Maybe if I get to the deciding frame and I need the black for a century...”
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Kyren Wilson kickstarted his new season in style by clinching the Shanghai Masters title, a decade after his breakthrough triumph in the same city | GETTYWilson revealed that he was scheduled to discuss the moment on talkSPORT the following day, but technical issues caused by a typhoon meant he missed the interview.
Still, he believes the conversation it sparked around the shot is positive for the sport.
“Trying to do something different in snooker gets people talking,” he said. “It’s all good for the game.”
The Shanghai triumph marks a strong return for Wilson after a bitter end to his last campaign.
Having become world champion in May 2024, he went on to win four ranking titles during the season.
Yet his Crucible defence ended in disaster when he was knocked out on day one by debutant Lei Peifan, another victim of the infamous 'Curse of the First-Time Champion.'
Wilson admits the loss hit hard.
“It really, really hurt to lose in the first round. I was in quite a dark place for a couple of weeks,” he shared.
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Kyren Wilson was too strong for Ali Carter in Sunday's Shanghai Masters final | GETTY“I was meant to be working for the BBC straight after that. I did one day and said to the producer, I’ve got to get out of here. I can’t do it. I don’t want to be here.”
What helped pull him through was a busy schedule of exhibition matches and the support of his family.
The globetrotting break from competitive play included stops in Dubai, China, Hong Kong, and Helsinki, giving him much-needed time to reset.
“I had some exhibitions which took my mind off it fairly quickly. Thank God for that, really. God knows what I’d have been doing otherwise," he added.