You could see exactly what it meant to Kyren Wilson as he potted the final few balls to wrap up a 6-4 win against Barry Hawkins.

This was only The Warrior’s second ever appearance at The Masters but now with a taste of victory for the first time he will be hungry for more.

This was a highly entertaining match which saw them level at 4-4 with two centuries apiece after eight frames before Wilson pulled clear to the winning line, albeit with the assistance of a pivotal fluked red to middle pocket in frame nine.

Wilson is a down-to-earth yet ambitious young player who knows exactly what it means to start winning matches on this, one of snooker’s biggest stages. It is another sure sign that Kyren is rapidly establishing himself as one of the game’s top players not only rubbing shoulders with the rest of the stars at Alexandra Palace but now winning matches here.

Although the form guide for the season so far might have tilted this tie slightly in the favour of Wilson, this was still a solid victory against a very experienced operator. Hawkins has reached the semi-finals and final of the last two editions of The Masters. He always seems to produce his best on the biggest stages and most definitely made Wilson work hard for this win here.

Next up for Northampton’s Wilson is Mark Williams who conquered world number one Mark Selby in round one. This is certain to be another tightly contested match against a player again of superior experience as a former two-time winner of the event. But this is a prospect Wilson will have come to expect in an event of this prestige as he performs the role of one of the game’s sprightly up and coming players pitting his game against those who have been here many times before.