What is the Crucible Curse? Kyren Wilson bids to avoid Ronnie O'Sullivan repeat

 Kyren Wilson will bid to overcome one of snooker's biggest curses at the World Championship

Kyren Wilson will bid to end the Crucible Curse at the World Snooker Championship (Image: Getty)

Kyren Wilson will seek to avoid the Crucible Curse at the World Snooker Championship this year. The reigning champion’s management have posted an amusing video ahead of his attempt to overcome a challenge that even seven-time champions Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have succumbed to.

In the clip, Wilson actively undertakes activities that are considered to be back luck. They include smashing a mirror, looking at a black cat, and putting up an umbrella indoors.

No first-time world snooker champion has ever successfully defended their title at the Crucible, which has hosted the event every year since 1977. If Wilson wins this year’s edition, he would remarkably become the first player to be defending the title for the first time to win it in consecutive years.

None of O’Sullivan, Hendry, Mark Selby or John Higgins - with 28 titles between them - succeeded in the tournament the year after winning their first. It is seen as a daunting prospect for first-time champions to turn up and win again. Many, including Luca Brecel and Neil Robertson, lost their first-round matches.

Brecel’s unsuccessful defence last year was made all the more incredible by the Belgian squandering a three-frame advantage, losing 10-9 against David Gilbert on the opening day.

However, Wilson is in a confident mood and is keen to banish those demons. The 33-year-old has even embraced working alongside a hypnotherapist, Chris O’Connor, to defeat the curse.

Kyren Wilson is heading into the World Championship in excellent form 

Asked if he can win the tournament again this year, Wilson told Reach PLC’s World Championship publication: “I believe so. I’ve had a season that would back those claims. Winning three titles so far and having a very consistent season… I’m going into it with a lot of confidence and I’ll be one of the players to beat.

“He (O’Connor) has been a massive addition to my team. I only started working with Chris two weeks before the World Championship. That shows you what an impact he had on me. I was so relaxed, so calm during that tournament.

“We’ve managed to follow that up and keep up consistent sessions throughout this season. I’ve already had three sessions with Chris this week [this interview is taking place on a Wednesday].”

O’Connor, who also works with darts stars Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall, and UFC’s Tom Aspinall, said of working with Wilson: “Kyren was visualising lifting the trophy, not last year, but this year, before he’d even won it the first time. We’re set on breaking that Crucible curse, that’s what we’re working on. He’ll tell you he’s going to do it.”