Kyren Wilson on the Key Advantage Snooker Has Over Darts

Former world champion Kyren Wilson made a sensational return to Alexandra Palace, looking closer to his peak form as he overcame Chinese prodigy Si Jiahui in a commanding 6-2 victory at the 2026 Masters. 

The highlight came in the second frame, where Wilson flirted with a 147-maximum break. 

All the reds were out in the open and the fans at Alexandra Palace were licking their lips. Although, the attempt ultimately ended at 80 when he missed a medium red, a routine shot under normal circumstances, but the pressure of chasing a 147 added extra intensity.

Wilson then sealed the match in style, producing back-to-back centuries of 101 and 105, emphatically confirming his return to form. 

Alexandra Palace and Darts Comparisons

While Wilson’s performance dominated the headlines, much of the post-match discussion centred on Alexandra Palace itself and comparisons with the PDC World Darts Championship, which is also held at the London venue.

Former world number one Mark Allen, following his first-round match yesterday, admitted he was somewhat envious of the massive crowds darts attracts.

"It does make us a little bit jealous, let’s be honest. Ally Pally for the darts, it looks nuts,” Allen told SportsBoom.co.uk.

The 2025/26 darts tournament was a complete sell-out and, from 2026/27, will move to the venue’s larger Great Hall, increasing total capacity to around 180,000 for the event, with individual sessions accommodating over 5,000 fans. By comparison, the Masters currently hosts just over 33,000 spectators across the entire tournament.

Wilson, whose close friend ‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans is a professional darts player, was at the venue to watch his friend, making him the perfect person to weigh in on the comparison.

"I was here for the darts, I must admit it is crazy. I actually brought my children, and I chose the afternoon session thinking it might be a little bit more tame,” Wilson began. 

Comparisons between darts and snooker are inevitable given their shared ties with Matchroom Sport and Barry Hearn, who owns majority stakes in both the World Snooker Tour and the Professional Darts Corporation.

Purist Fans Give Snooker the Edge

Despite acknowledging darts’ popularity, Wilson believes snooker has its own unique appeal. The difference, in his view, is the purity of the audience.

"I don't necessarily think the whole of the crowd are watching the darts. I think there's more watching back home."

"I'm an avid fan. I love watching it back home and I love to come and support Ricky [Evans], so I'm not discrediting anything that the darts players are doing.”

He echoed sentiments from darts veteran James Wade, who shared his view after the recent World Darts Championship.

"But I think James Wade hit the nail on the head. I think a lot of them [fans] are almost at Christmas do, and they might not necessarily be darts fan,” Wilson added.

"If you go to Blackpool [for the World Matchplay] the fans are there to watch the darts and solely watch the darts,” Wade told SportsBoom, following his first-round win at the recent World Darts Championship against Ryusei Azemoto. 

"Here [Alexandra Palace] most of the people are here to have an office party, just enjoy themselves because Santa is coming."

"I need to remind myself why they’re here, and they’re not here to watch the darts,” Wade concluded. 

Wilson emphasised that the crowd at Alexandra Palace comes solely for the snooker, no distractions, no gimmicks, just pure, focused support for the sport.

"When you come here for the snooker for the Masters, there's 2000 in that stadium and every single person is a snooker fan and everyone is zoned in, locked in watching. There's no gimmicks in between."

"It's just purely about the sport. And I think that's where there's a slight difference in the quality.”

Wilson’s Light-hearted Take

Despite his serious praise for snooker’s devoted following, Wilson ended on a humorous note.

"But yeah, I wish I was darts player,” he jokingly signed off.