Kyren Wilson, 30, casts doubt over playing into his forties

Petrolhead Kyren Wilson admires Nico Rosberg for putting his family first and quitting at the top of his sport.

While snooker’s class of 92 are still going strong well into their forties, German Rosberg quit Formula One in 2016 after beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the world title in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

And Crucible runner-up Wilson, a married father of two and F1 fanatic, respects Rosberg for the decision.

Asked if he can see himself playing into his forties like John Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams, Wilson replied: ‘I'm not sure. I've got a family that I do want to enjoy at some point. So we'll see.

‘I'm not saying I'm going do it, but I love what Nico Rosberg did. He won the world title in F1. And he said my family have missed enough - I'm going to step back and not race anymore. So I really liked that. Yeah, obviously, that's a nice position to be in as a world champion…’

Wilson says his choice of career has produced some tough choices.

‘There has to be a lot of sacrifice. You do have to be very selfish to play this game,’ he says. ‘You do have to almost put your family second, so it's hard to do sometimes when you've got young children and family around you. So it's sort of managing that, isn't it? So we'll see.’

Wilson reached the Crucible final two years ago, losing 18-8 against Ronnie O’Sullivan. But his preparation was far from ideal.

‘My fire alarm went off in the hotel at 6am in the morning and I'd already not had a very good sleep because I was wired from the semi-final match with Anthony Hamilton.

‘And that kind of transpired into the final. I got off to a really poor staff but managed to make a real fight of it in the second session and should have closed within one frame