Gary Wilson searching for sweet spot again at Shanghai Masters

07/15/2024 12:00 AM

Gary Wilson enjoyed the best season of his career last time around, but heads to the Shanghai Masters looking to rediscover some of the form that saw him win two titles over the last year.

The reigning Scottish and Welsh Open champion also made a Tour Championship semi-final last season and quarter-finals of the Players Championship and World Grand Prix, now sitting pretty at number 11 in the world rankings.

The Tyneside Terror went to the Crucible as a contender to become world champion but the season ended in disappointment with a first round defeat to Stuart Bingham, a match he has already consigned to the dustbin of his mind.

‘I just had a very bad day, didn’t play well at all,’ Wilson told Metro.co.uk of the 10-5 loss to Bingham. ‘I was tinkering again beforehand and went into the game a bit flat.

‘I was surprised. I was in the practice room beforehand and said that I was feeling flat, which was worrying because I’m at the Crucible, one of the best arenas in the world, I love playing there at the World Championship, but I didn’t feel it at all.

‘It was partly down to tinkering and searching for things that just weren’t working out. Just a very bad day overall. Stuart played okay but I basically gave him it.

‘One to forget. I’ve learned enough over the last few years, instead of beating yourself up and feeling sorry for yourself, forget about it and move on. It was a disappointing end to what was a decent season, but I moved on very quickly to be honest.

‘I’ve always struggled with shaking off bad loses. I’ve almost wanted to let them linger to try and rectify it and analyse it, but sometimes it’s not the best way. I had a bad day, I’ve moved on.’

The 38-year-old was back in action at the Championship League, falling in the second group stage despite not being beaten in any of his six matches.

‘I wasn’t feeling it, to be honest, he admitted. ‘I hadn’t been playing much in the run up and I felt pretty awful throughout it. Clinging onto players’ coattails. I missed out by not winning my last game, it was close, but it felt pretty awful throughout.’

Wilson is very open about when he is feeling good or bad on the baize, admitting earlier this year that he so regularly struggles to feel comfortable that he rarely enjoys snooker anymore.

He might not always feel great at the table, but he is an increasingly reliable force at the top of the game so he is clearly learning how to deal with the downs.

‘Maybe I’m a bit better when I feel bad, my standard’s a little bit better,’ he said. ‘I’m not tinkering as radically as I used to, so there’s some kind of base level there. In the past I was all over the place.

‘Probably I’m a bit more consistent now, but it’s still very frustrating when I feel like that. I get a bit of imposter syndrome, I feel embarrassed.’

Wilson now heads to the Shanghai Masters with some hard practice behind him and is relishing the high-end event, where he hopes the feel-good factor returns.

‘It’s a brilliant tournament and a privilege of being in the top 16,’ he said. ‘It’s not a ranking tournament so not the most pressure on it, but it’s big prize money and it’s a good initiation into the season.

‘I love going to Shanghai. It’s different in the Middle East and China, they treat the snooker players like proper sports stars, it’s not the kind of feel in other places in the world. Just different cultures and how popular the sport is. It’s lovely to go over there, especially Shanghai, it’s my favourite place in China. I hope to feel decent about my game and hopefully play well.’

Ronnie O’Sullivan is, yet again, the defending champion at the Shanghai Masters having won all three non-ranking editions of the tournament.

Wilson will not be fazed about facing the Rocket though, if he gets the chance, having spent three nights taking on the seven-time world champion at exhibitions in Finland in June.

‘It was good, the weather was beautiful, lovely little town Tampere,’ said Wilson of the experience. ‘The people over there love their snooker and it was fantastic to put on the show in front of 2,000 people every night. it was really good, really enjoyed it and I’d love to go back again.

‘We were both playing really quickly, there was a few centuries, I was a bit disappointed to not make a maximum. You want to put on something special for the fans, but overall it was a great few nights. I managed to win overall, we went into the last night with whoever won that winning the series. I won that one 6-5, it was good! We had an hour or so with Ronnie in the green room before each show chatting away, it was nice.

‘Hopefully Finland is due a ranking tournament in the next few years. There’s certainly the interest with 2,000 people filling the arena each night it’s fantastic. Hopefully we’ll be back with a ranking tournament. People there were hopeful it’ll come in the next few years.’

Wilson faces Pang Junxu in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.

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