Kyren Wilson claims title with 10-8 victory

The 2026 World Snooker Tour International Championship concluded in Nanjing with an electrifying final showdown. Kyren Wilson defeated John Higgins 10-8 to win his first International Championship title and the 12th ranking tournament of his career.

The final began with both players giving their all. In the first frame, Wilson set the pace with a break of 58 to take the lead. Higgins responded, leveling at 1-1 before firing a 141 break to move ahead 2-1. Wilson hit back with breaks of 69 and 94 for a 3-2 advantage. Higgins responded with a 56 break to tie at 3-3, before Wilson’s 62 edging him ahead 4-3. Still, the experienced Higgins produced a 71 in the eighth and capitalized on a Wilson error in the ninth with a 75, finishing the first session 5-4 ahead.

After the break, Wilson’s break of 70 evened things at 5-5. In the 11th, Higgins needed a counter-clearance and answered with a break of 74 to steal the frame, but Wilson equaled the match at 6-6 with a superb 130. The epic exchange continued: after Wilson’s 54, Higgins countered with a 65 to lead 7-6 at the interval. Resuming play, Wilson’s 80 tied the match, before Higgins missed the blue in the 15th and Wilson capitalized to move 8-7 in front. Wilson’s form peaked with another century in the 17th to take a 9-7 lead and reach the verge of victory. Although Higgins seized a Wilson error to pull back a frame, the decisive 18th saw Higgins make a key positional mistake, and Wilson held his nerve, eventually closing out a 10-8 triumph.

With his victory, 34-year-old Kyren Wilson became the 16th player in history to win back-to-back ranking tournaments and is now the 12th to reach at least 12 ranking titles.