Kyren Wilson put in his place by fellow snooker world champion after kicking off | Other | Sport

Kyren Wilson has been slammed by fellow world champion Shaun Murphy after complaining about his treatment at the British Open. Wilson, who tasted Crucible glory for the first time last year, was knocked out in the fourth round by Elliot Slessor.The reigning world champion was unhappy that he was forced to play on table two while Mark Selby and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh played on the main TV table. In a furious rant on X, formerly Twitter, Wilson claimed he was overlooked because his ‘face doesn’t fit’.He wrote: “Same s**t different day, demoted to table two again and get found out! What benefits does a world champion get nowadays? Graveyard shift in Brentwood, table two in Saudi every game whilst being the number one seed there!”Table two tonight in Cheltenham and being the highest ranked in the session… unfortunately nothing ever changes with the sport I love, if your face doesn’t fit… tough.”People can have their opinions. Always been that you earn the right for the privileges. Apparently not anymore. I always try to promote the sport and be a good ambassador for it. What’s the point?”Murphy, however, believes Wilson should not be guaranteed anything just because he is the current world champion. Speaking on his podcast, he argued that players who generate the most interest and bring in the most money will always be prioritised.”There is no such rule that says if you’re the world champion you’ll be on table one, or if you are the defending champion you’ll be on table one,” said Murphy.”No such rule exists. There’s a couple of players that move the needle so much that when they play they’ll always be on table one. It’s about time the players understood that it’s about which match is the most attractive, the most exciting, which is going to pull more viewers in and that’s the one that will go first.”It’s no more complicated than that. Kyren asks what are the rewards for being world champion. You’ve got half a million pounds, that was your reward for winning the World Championship.”And you’ll forever be known as a world champion, that’s your reward. It doesn’t entitle you to be on table one every match.”Wilson will be hoping for better treatment when he begins his Wuhan Open campaign against Liam Davies on Sunday. Murphy will be in action the following day, with the 42-year-old going up against Anthony Hamilton.