Wilson stings Lisowski with six-frame winning streak to progress at Masters

Kyren Wilson managed to tame Jack Lisowski in the first round of the Masters despite a quickfire start from his opponent at Alexandra Palace.

Lisowski raced into a 2-0 lead and looked in good touch, but Wilson managed to draw level at the mid-session interval and won the next four frames to progress 6-2.

“Jack started off like a house on fire, going for everything and potting everything like we know he can do,” Wilson said.

“First two frames I didn’t really see a ball. After that I settled down and started to play snooker like I know I can.

“I felt like I didn’t want to take any undue risks. I kept it tight but took my chances when they came.

“I know how dangerous Jack can be. When I started getting a frame or two ahead I didn’t want to throw him in the balls and make it easy for him to re-find his rhythm.”

The game took a turn for the bizarre in frame five when match referee Ben Williams was stung by a wasp, with Wilson saying afterwards “I don’t know what he was expecting putting a bee in his hand, it was only going to go one way.”

The 28-year-old was unfazed by the interruption however, and looked comfortable as he moved clear of Lisowski to book a meeting with Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals.

“The first game I believe is probably the toughest in this tournament,” he said.

“You can sort of get here and be gone very quickly, so now the first game’s out of the way I feel like I can settle into the event.”

Wilson will play 2015 World Champion Bingham for a place in the semi-finals – Bingham reached the semis in 2016, and was keen to go further after beating Mark Williams 6-2.

“Obviously my record here isn’t the best, so every match is like a final for me,” said Bingham.

“I’ve played alright, a few little things here and there, but as the match went on I’ve grown a bit more in confidence.

“The top 16 in the world are here and they’re all here on merit. They’re all great players.

“If you don’t turn up you’ll get beaten.”