Kyren Wilson against Judd Trump could be the blockbuster rivalry snooker needs, according to one of the sport’s greats.
Wilson’s comments after his Masters defeat to Shaun Murphy raised plenty of eyebrows with rival, and No.1 seed, Judd Trump labelling the Warrior “not the best loser” after he said that Magician Murphy was “an old man” who “needed it more.” Those words have since been echoed by Scots snooker hero Stephen Hendry, but he insisted that being a bad loser is a great trait for Wilson to have – because it reminds him of his own attitude during his glittering career.
Speaking on his Snooker Club podcast, Hendry said: “I don’t like good losers, there’s the saying show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser. I think in sport there’s a lot to that. I don’t mind the fact he’s a bad loser, I think that’s the only way to be. Why would you enjoy losing?
“It was a huge match at the Masters, he had a chance to get back into it and ended up losing. A couple of things he said I thought maybe he felt the need to remind everyone he was world champion, and there was a comment on people on the circuit being jealous of his citation. A couple of things that didn’t need to be said.
“But when you lose and the microphone is put in your face you say things that you shouldn’t. And I’m more guilty of it than anyone in the history of the game. If you’re hurting then I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t hurting.” And Hendry now hopes that it will be the start of a fierce rivalry between the pair – who will go into this year’s World Championship as the players to beat.
He added: “There was needle a few years ago when they played in the Masters. Then it calmed down and they became more friendly, and now Judd has stoked it up a little bit again. Judd is probably as bad or worse a loser than Kyren Wilson, but he keeps his post-match interviews very short, as I did.
“If you start going down a road sometimes you say something you don’t really want to, to get out of it. I’d prefer to just say yes and no and stick to that. But it’s fantastic for the game to have a bit of needle between one and two in the world, and it’s exactly what we want as spectators to the game.”