Kyren Wilson has admitted he never doubted he would become a world champion.
The Warrior is currently preparing to make the first defence of his World Snooker Championship crown.
AFPWilson says he never doubted he would become world champion[/caption]
GettyRonnie O’Sullivan tipped Wilson for glory before his maiden Crucible triumph[/caption]
Wilson beat Jak Jones in last year’s final in his second tilt at the title.
It came four years after his defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible in 2020.
However, the Rocket remained vocal in his support for Wilson after that meeting, having often backed him to become world champion.
The 33-year-old also always believed he would reach the top of the sport during his career.
Asked if he ever doubted he would become world champion, Wilson told talkSPORT Breakfast this week: “No, I called it from the off. I’ve always believed I can do it.
“You know, I think if you put it into existence, you know, you give yourself the chance of doing it.
“If you cower away from thinking that you’re not going to do it and your mind can’t tell the difference between what’s true from what’s false.
“So if you tell yourself you can’t do it, it’s never going to happen. So it’s about sort of making it into existence, if you like.
“But obviously, you’ve got to go and back that up. So I was delighted to do that last year.”
O’Sullivan continued to be impressed by his fellow world champion following Wilson’s victory last May.
GettyWilson has taken the Rocket’s advice on board this season[/caption]
The seven-time winner revealed in November that he had sent him a supportive text message, urging Wilson to ‘go and get as many majors as you can’.
He has appeared to take that advice on board, winning four ranking titles this season to take his career tally to 10.
Wilson’s latest triumph came in the Players Championship on Sunday, beating Judd Trump 10-9 to claim £150,000 in prize money.
The world number two now heads into next week’s Tour Championship on a high.
He will enter the final event before the Crucible in the quarter-finals, facing either Mark Williams or Ding Junhui.
All eyes will then turn to Sheffield, where the World Championship is scheduled for April 19 to May 5.
Wilson is not ruling out an eighth victory for O’Sullivan at the season-ending tournament, though.
He added: “Yeah, he’s obviously more than capable. He did it with having a year off and came back and won the World Championships. He’s that good.
“And I think it’s key that obviously he keeps himself in good shape and he’s still very hungry to win. So yeah, you certainly can’t write that man off.”
O’Sullivan has not played competitively since being knocked out of the Welsh Open in February.
The 49-year-old has since withdrawn from several events to tumble to 31st in the World Snooker Tour’s one-year rankings.
However, he remains fourth in the world thanks to his performances over the last two years.
