There, he sealed an 18-14 victory over Jak Jones to claim the title outright – the first of an impressive career. Rather than frittering away his cool £500k windfall on status symbols such as luxury cars and designer clothes, Wilson instead put the money towards a Portuguese retreat for himself and his loved ones to enjoy. While the Englishman now has guaranteed sunshine and relaxation just a short flight away, finances were not always so forthcoming during his early years.
Speaking with the Times, Wilson said: “My dad has a fight on his hands every day with multiple sclerosis and that puts snooker into perspective. It’s nothing compared to what he and my mum have to go through.
“She’s been a loyal servant to Weetabix for 30-odd years on the packaging side of things. It’s probably not the ideal thing she wanted for her life, but she knew it’d bring stability to our family. They re-mortgaged the house so I could go out and fulfil my dream. I spoil my children now, but I remind them it wasn’t always like this.”
He added: “Everything seems like a bonus because you never had anything. I think that’s been a key part of my success. I went in very hungry and humble. That’s kept me down to earth and made me appreciate the value of money.”
At the time, his World Championship victory took his professional career earnings to in excess of £3million. He has added a further £897,100 to that figure during this season alone. While Wilson will have arrived at this year’s Crucible with ambitions of securing a second world title, fate had other ideas for the Kettering-born star – who sits eighth in the WST’s world rankings.
Wilson claimed a 10-7 victory over teenage sensation Stan Moody in his opening match of the World Championship, but was sent packing by Mark Allen with a 13-9 defeat in the very next round, spending much of the tournament alongside Hazel Irvine and Ken Doherty in the BBC studio. Speaking about the field, he explained: “I felt I could win the world championships because I feel like I’ve got that determination and that all-round game, but I knew it was gonna be a struggle.
“I knew I was never gonna win it easily. Like when I won it in ’24, I felt like I kind of just coasted through it. I really played strong snooker right from the off. Round one against Stan was tough. Session one against Mark was tough. It’s just been a real tough outing for me for this tournament.”