Kyren Wilson speaks out after criticism over cue incident during International Championship

Kyren Wilson says he apologised to the referee over throwing his cue on the table after losing a frame at the International Championship in China.

While 57 points behind with 27 remaining in his first round match against Liam Highfield, Wilson conceded the frame after his opponent Liam Highfield missed a yellow.

But as he was walking out of the arena, Wilson threw his cue across the table as the balls were being re-racked for the next frame - and the 2024 world champion received a surprised glare from the match referee. Footage posted on his Chinese social media page has shown Wilson apologising to the referee, who clearly held no hard feelings - and he has now spoken publicly about the incident.

Kyren Wilson responds after International Championship incident

Wilson would recover to beat Highfield 6-5 on Sunday to progress to the second round in Nanjing, where he thrashed Ryan Day 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking to the World Snooker Tour after his victory over Day, Wilson said of the cue incident: "It's a tough one, really. I've always been a fiery character, and I've always had that bit of a temper side in me. That's something that's made me a winner over the years, and I feel like that little bit of fire in your belly is the difference between a winner sometimes.

"It was something that I just needed to get out of my system. I'd just bottled up my emotions for eight frames. I've played Liam for many years, since we were about 11 years old, and he's kind of changed his style of play, if I can just put it lightly. And it just frustrated me over the course of eight frames. I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, but it was the right thing for me to do in that moment, to get myself geed up and going again.

"The only thing I regret is that my anger was outed towards the referee. So I bought him a cupcake before tonight's game, just to say sorry and that it was nothing to do with him. So yeah, I hold my hands up for that. But I never hold my hands up for how passionate I am about the game and about my performances."

Kyren Wilson's 2026/27 snooker season so far

Wilson had a difficult 2025/26 season, culminating in his second-round defeat to Mark Allen at the World Championship. But he has found more consistency during the current campaign, and reached the Shanghai Masters final before winning the Northern Ireland Open earlier this month.

READ NEXT: Referee leaves Kyren Wilson stunned after demanding fan be thrown out of Northern Ireland Open final

The £100,000 prize cheque from winning in Belfast has pushed him up to number nine in the world rankings, while he has already qualified for the Masters - as reigning champion - and the UK Championship.

Wilson will have a big opportunity to push further up the rankings during next year's World Championship, as he is only defending the £20,000 he earned for losing in the first round proper at the Crucible in 2025. 'The Warrior' was defending champion on that occasion but lost 10-9 to China's Lei Peifan.