Kyren Wilson beats Higgins 10-8 to win first National Championship title

China News Service, November 8. According to the event organizer, on November 7, the 2026 World Snooker Tour International Championship ended at the National Fitness Center in Southern Xincheng, Qinhuai District, Nanjing. In the final peak showdown, Karen Wilson defeated John Higgins 10-8 to win the championship. This was also the first national championship in his career and the 12th ranking championship.

Karen Wilson and Higgins. Photo provided by the organizer

The final is 10 wins out of 19 games, divided into two stages. The first stage starts at 14:00 pm (the first 9 games) and the second stage (the last 10 games) at 19:30. The prize money for the champion is as high as 175,000 pounds, and the runner-up will get 75,000 pounds. In the first stage, the two people had no reservations at the beginning of the game. In the first game, Kyren Wilson took the lead, scoring 58 points and getting a good start in the final. In the second game, John Higgins entered the state, 76-0 to tie the score to 1-1. In the third game, Higgins scored a high score of 141 points on a single stroke, leading 2-1.

After that, Kyren Wilson scored 69 points and 94 points in two consecutive games, leading the score to 3-2. Higgins scored 56 points on a single stroke in the sixth inning, leveling the score at 3-3. In the seventh inning, the two sides started a fierce battle. Karen Wilson seized the opportunity and scored 62 points on a single shot, leading 3-2 again. The old and strong Higgins made timely adjustments, scoring 71 points on a single shot in the 8th inning. He also caught Kyren Wilson's mistake of not scoring a goal in the ninth inning and scored 75 points on a single shot. He won two consecutive games and overtook the score, ending the first stage of the final with 5-4.

In the second stage of the evening, the competition for the national championship became fierce. At the beginning of the tenth inning, Wilson tied the score with a single stroke of 70. In the eleventh inning, "囧Brother" once again took a 69-0 lead. Higgins staged a desperate counterattack, clearing the table and scoring a single stroke of 74, completing a wonderful single-inning reversal. Wilson was not affected by the reversal of the big score. In the 12th inning, he scored 130 points on a single stroke to tie 6-6 again. In the 13th inning, Wilson's attack was interrupted after 54 points in a single stroke. Higgins once again completed the reversal with 65 points in a single stroke, leading 7-6 into the evening halftime break.

Kyren Wilson in action. Photo provided by the organizer

The two are chasing each other, and the competition is very fierce. After returning from the break, Wilson scored 80 points on a single stroke to equalize the score. In the 15th inning, Higgins missed a blue ball. Wilson took advantage of the situation and won, leading the score 8-7. "囧Brother" came back from the break with a hot touch and broke 100 with another shot. He won 3 games in a row and reached the match point first with 9-7. In the crucial 17th game, Higgins caught Wilson's small mistake in the middle of the game and regained the game, but Wilson still had match point.

Finally, in the 18th game, Higgins made a positioning error that prevented the black ball from being scored. Wilson took over and gained the advantage. At the end of the game, Wilson made another careless mistake, causing a slight disturbance in the game. However, in the end, he still won the game without any danger and won with a big score of 10-8. By winning the National Championship, 34-year-old Kyren Wilson became the 16th player in history to achieve consecutive ranking event titles. At the same time, he also successfully realized his dream of the 12th ranking event championship in his career, becoming the 12th player in snooker history to win 12 ranking event championships or more.

With the historic victory, all competitions in this national championship are over. This is the twelfth edition of this event and the third consecutive year it has been held in Nanjing. The total prize money for the event is as high as 825,000 pounds, making it one of the ranking events with the highest prize money this season. In this national championship, 10 of the world's top 16 players came to Nanjing. A total of 26 people from the Chinese Legion led by Zhao Xintong, Wu Yize, and Ding Junhui participated. 8 people successfully advanced to the top 16, and 2 people reached the semi-finals. A total of 145 shots broke the 100 mark in this tournament. Chang Bingyu broke the 100 mark with 13 shots and became the player with the most hundred breaks in this tournament. Thachaiya Unu scored a perfect score of 147 points.

After the finals, the organizers also held an awards and closing ceremony. Relevant leaders from the World Snooker Tour, China Billiards Association, Nanjing Sports Bureau, Nanjing Qinhuai District People's Government, and Nanjing Southern New City Development and Construction Management Committee attended and presented awards to Tachaya Unu (147 points), the highest single-shot scorer, the National Championship runner-up, and the National Championship champion. After all the players and guests took a group photo on stage, the 2026 World Snooker Tour International Championship came to a successful conclusion.

The 2026 World Snooker Tour International Championship is hosted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and the Chinese Billiards Association, hosted by the Nanjing Municipal Sports Bureau, Nanjing Qinhuai District People's Government, Nanjing Southern New City Development and Construction Management Committee, ZOSE Sports and Entertainment Co., Ltd., and commercially operated by Nanjing Yuesu Event Operations Co., Ltd. (over)