Snooker Hall: Kyren Wilson confident he can be the new Crucible king

Wilson won the Shanghai Masters as a lowly world number 54 last year, and is provisionally in the top 16 after his 13-9 victory over Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen, who threatened a dramatic comeback after Wilson had fearlessly stormed ahead.

Standing in the way of Wilson in the Crucible quarter-finals is world No.1 Mark Selby, but Wilson remains confident he can become the first qualifer since Shaun Murphy in 2005 to lift his sport’s biggest prize.

“It was obviously a fantastic achievement the way Shaun blitzed everyone with his sensational potting, so he’s proved that it’s possible,” Wilson said.

“And I’d love to add myself to that list.

“That match took a lot of mental strength but I think it set me up nicely for the next round. I’ve shown I can mix it, I can flow and I can battle. What ever my opponent throws at me I’m capable of dealing with it.”

O’Sullivan singled out Wilson as a future world No.1 on Twitter recently, and Trump - who lost to Wilson in the Shanghai final - added his name to a growing list of admirers yesterday: “I’m not surprised to see him in the quarter-finals at all,” he said.

“I think he’s the new John Higgins, the new Mark Selby. He could be around for a long time.”

Trump, though, reached the end of the road in Sheffield after losing 13-10 to Steel City-based Chinese star, Ding Junhui. Trump was forced to defend his use of Twitter to hit back at commentator Dominic Dale, who had criticised his ball control online.

“This time I lost because Ding was the better player - there’s no other reason. I don’t want to drain myself thinking about the game all day, every day,” Trump said.

“I just think it’s a little bit wrong of him [Dale] to say that during a game.”

Last night, O’Sullivan’s World Championship ended after a 13-12 defeat to Barry Hawkins, in a final-frame decider, while four time Crucible champion John Higgins also made the quarter-finals after beating Ricky Walden 13-8.

Last night, O’