Gary Wilson determined to rediscover title-winning form after losing his snooker way

Gary Wilson has cut a frustrated and downbeat figure this season, but he is determined to put in the hard work and get back to his best.

The Tyneside Terror has largely had a campaign to forget with just one quarter-final run, despite coming off a brilliant purple patch which saw him win three ranking events from December 2022-February 2024.

His frustrations were evident after a first round defeat to Shaun Murphy at the Masters, saying after a 6-3 loss: ‘My game’s shot, to be totally honest. It hasn’t been there for a while and it’s almost getting so frustrating that I can actually be more chirpy about it.

‘I’m actually getting to the point, worryingly enough, where I’m not even bothered anymore. It’s actually worrying where I’m going out there not even feeling the buzz and the adrenaline.

‘It’s a horrible feeling when you’re doing it because you know it means something. It didn’t feel like it meant anything there. It’s been frustrating for quite a while now. I think I’m getting to the end of my tether.’

Wilson is still frustrated with his performances, but is focussing more on how he can overcome the issue than giving in to despair over his form.

‘I was bitterly disappointed with the way I felt about my game, and I have been for a while,’ Wilson told the Talking Snooker podcast.

‘That’s the most frustrating and disappointing thing. You hope deep down that once you’ve won a few tournaments that maybe I’m getting over some of them hurdles I’ve had in my locker. Put some of it to bed.

‘Really it’s been more frustrating because it hasn’t really happened. I’ve still found myself with the same problems I’ve had in my game. It’s just a case of trying to navigate around it.

‘It was bitterly disappointing that I just couldn’t enjoy it because of the way my game was. They’re the kind of occasions you want to enjoy, playing in front of 2,500 people at Ally Pally, that was my first time there doing that. To not have enjoyed that as much as I wish I could have done, and to lose as well, it’s deflating.

‘You can go about that in two ways, you can keep sulking or you can snap out of it at some stage and keep working really hard and know that I’ve won a few tournaments so there’s no reason why I can’t win more, if I put the hard work in and that’s all I’m trying to do. Put the hard work in and hope things turn around, so I can at least enjoy my snooker again.’

Wilson heads to the Welsh Open next week as the defending champion after he notched up his third ranking title by winning in Llandudno a year ago.

He might not be feeling like he is about to lift a trophy again right now, but he does know that he has done it multiple times so it is in there somewhere.

‘I’ve got the experience now, knowing that it can’t be gone forever,’ he said. ‘I’ve been in this phase of my career a few times. To come out of it and win a tournament and another one and another one. I can win tournaments even if I’m feeling low.

‘You’ve just got to keep trying to persevere, otherwise what am I going to do? I’m a snooker player at the end of the day and a pretty good one, I believe.

‘I genuinely felt what I felt [at the Masters], but getting around it and trying to do something about it are tough things to do. It’s been going on for quite a while.

‘I felt at a complete loss when I played Shaun, I didn’t know where to go or where to turn. But I know deep down it’s about hard work for me rather than anything drastic. It always has been.

‘When you’ve won a few tournaments and got experiences to hark back on, that cements that idea in your head more. I might always have issues, but the best way for me to deal with mine is hard work.

‘I guess it’s just another learning curve in my career. I’ve got to keep the faith, know that I’ve won tournaments and I need to find a way to not go missing for massive parts of the season each year. You’re only as good as your last game and a lot of my last games have been very, very poor. That has to be sorted out.’

Wilson will begin the defence of his Welsh Open title on Monday 10 February against Ishpreet Singh Chadha.