TNT Sports
Kyren Wilson has played too much snooker, says Ronnie O'Sullivan after shock World Snooker Championship 2025 first-round loss to Lei Peifan
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Updated 20/04/2025 at 00:15 GMT+1
Kyren Wilson was beaten on Saturday night at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in his first-round match against Lei Peifan at the 2025 World Championship. Speaking to TNT Sports, Ronnie O'Sullivan feels that the reigning champion might have played too much snooker recently. Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Wilson played in too many tournaments this season - O'Sullivan
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan suggested that Kyren Wilson had played "too much match snooker" after the 2024 world champion was knocked out by Lei Peifan on Saturday evening.
Wilson was another victim of the 'Crucible curse', with no first-time champion successfully defending their crown.
He had been one of the pre-tournament favourites, but lost 10-9, having been 6-2 ahead at one point in Sheffield.
Speaking on TNT Sports, O’Sullivan said he did not think that Wilson had played particularly badly, but said that Wilson’s success since winning last year had hampered his chances of retaining the title.
He said: "I always text Kyren through the season, because we get on quite well. I just think he's gone deep in a lot of tournaments, won a lot of tournaments, and although he's played alright today, if you look at the last two winners of the World Championship, himself and Luca Brecel, they both came in very fresh.
"I think to win this World Championship, you need to come in doing well, [but] you need to, at some point around February, go right, it's all about the World Championship."
O’Sullivan added that Wilson had spent too much time at the table after winning tournaments. Since his World Championship win, Wilson has won the Xi'an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open, German Masters and Players Championship, and also lost in the finals of the Masters, the Helsinki International Cup, and the Championship League Invitational, and appeared at other tournaments throughout the season.
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‘Gutted’ Wilson feels 'season has been wasted' after shock Crucible exit
Video credit: TNT Sports
He continued: "I just think he played in too many tournaments he didn't need to play in.
"I think it's a very fine line, and when you come here you want to come here with a spring in your step. You want to play your way into form, rather than be really at your limit. It will go the other way. I think with Kyren, maybe [he should have] missed a few tournaments, because he didn't necessarily need to play in them."
O’Sullivan has been away from competitive snooker since January for medical reasons, and he said that if players are targeting success at the Crucible, then they need to give themselves room to grow into the tournament.
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He concluded: "If this is the one you want to win, I always think [you should] come in a bit undercooked, take a month off from playing. If you've been playing all season, it really won't make a difference.
"If you can just take a week off here and there, coming into February ahead of the World Championship, you come in a little fresher. And to be in this tournament, you need to feel strong come the quarter-finals. For me, I think he's played too much match snooker."
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Reigning champion Wilson loses in first round to debutant Lei – ‘Crucible curse strikes again!’
Video credit: TNT Sports
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