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What is the World Championship 'Crucible Curse' that claimed Kyren Wilson as its latest victim?
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Published 20/04/2025 at 10:51 GMT+1
Kyren Wilson was one of the pre-tournament favourites for the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre, but he lost on Saturday night against Lei Peifan to become another victim of the 'Crucible Curse'. The tournament moved to the venue in Sheffield in 1977, and ever since then, the curse has been in effect, for those who happen to believe it. So, just what is the Crucible Curse?
Reigning champion Wilson loses in first round to debutant Lei – ‘Crucible curse strikes again!’
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Kyren Wilson became the latest victim of snooker’s infamous 'Crucible Curse' when he lost to Lei Peifan in the World Championship on Saturday - but what is it?
Wilson arrived in Sheffield as one of the pre-tournament favourites, but was knocked out by his underdog opponent in heartbreaking circumstances.
The defending champion was 6-2 up before seeing his Chinese opponent win seven consecutive frames, before losing in the final frame, 10-9.
Wilson had four ranking titles to his name since winning at the Crucible last year, but Ronnie O’Sullivan suggested that he had been playing too much snooker to be fresh for the daunting task ahead of him.
While any player faces an intense battle to be crowned world champion, for some ineffable reason, it appears impossible for first-time champions to successfully retain their crown, and so it proved on Saturday.
Wilson is, of course, one of the best players on the circuit right now, but even bigger players have fallen victim in the past.
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O’Sullivan outlines what impresses him most about Lei – ‘Huge asset to have’
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What is the Crucible Curse in snooker’s World Championship?
Simply put, the curse is the belief that no first-time world champion has ever successfully followed up with a defence in the next year.
The tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977, and ever since, there have been 19 first-time winners, but none of them have made it all the way in the next tournament.
While Ken Doherty and Joe Johnson both pushed hard - reaching the final - they fell at the last hurdle. And in truth, they were rare exceptions.
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2023’s champion, Luca Brecel, was out in the first round last year, one of eight champions to have lost at the first hurdle of their defence.
Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby have shown that it is indeed possible to win it at least twice, but they have all failed to follow up their debut wins with immediate success.
How to watch and stream the World Championship
The World Championship begins on Saturday, April 19, with the blockbuster best-of-35 frames final to be played across two days on Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5.
You can watch every day of the 2025 World Championship live on TV on TNT Sports, with all the action also available both live and on-demand on discovery+.
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