When Gary Wilson received Sport Newcastle’s coveted Wilkinson Sword in 2024 he insisted there was still plenty more to come. Ahead of Tuesday’s World Championship showdown with top ranked Judd Trump, we checked in with one of snooker’s top talents.

Sport Newcastle: You've been through two qualifying rounds to reach this year’s Crucible main draw in Sheffield — is that the best preparation for the game’s biggest tournament?

Gary Wilson: Probably. As long as you win your matches — and as long as you're playing OK — then the qualifiers are great match practice. You go into the main draw sharper and you might come up against a seed who hasn’t had as many competitive frames under their belt in the last few weeks. It doesn’t make too much difference when you’re playing the best in the world but snooker is a game of fine margins and you’re always looking for some kind of edge. I'm happy that I've had a couple of games going into Tuesday’s first round against Judd [Trump] even though I didn't feel like I was playing great in the qualifiers. I realise I have a few things to work on but I’ll be ready.

SN: How do you feel about the World Championships staying in Sheffield?

GW: Overall, it's a great thing. Keeping the World Championships at the Crucible is brilliant and deep down I think that’s what we all wanted. Nobody is saying that they’d rather it was somewhere else just for the money — that’s not the case at all. But I do look at it from both sides. For a few years now there has been talk of a new Crucible — perhaps built on the same site — that could accommodate 2,500 or even 3,000 fans. I think everyone would agree that would be the dream. It would be the sweet spot in terms of satisfying demand for tickets, increasing revenue for the game and, of course, generating greater prize money. So exactly the same as we have now — just bigger and better! I think what’s been announced is the best that could be achieved to keep the worlds in Sheffield. Is it a compromise? Maybe. But I wouldn’t want the World Championships to move to Saudi or China because the Crucible is where it belongs. If it was a choice between moving away or making the best of the situation in Sheffield I’d have chosen the second option every time, all day long.

SN: How do you assess your season?

GW: Not great but not bad! I was disappointed to lose the Wuhan Open final 10-9. It was a match I felt I should have won. Then in the next Chinese tournament I was playing well against Shaun Murphy in the semi-final before he came out of nowhere and just went berserk! I felt a little bit hard done by and it did feel like a missed opportunity. There have been good moments but in and around those moments there have been a lot of bad days. In terms of the level I’ve been playing at for some time now it hasn’t been good enough but I’m still inside the world’s top 20 on the one-year list and I’ve qualified for the World Championships. As a professional snooker player that’s always how you want to end your season — playing at the biggest tournament of all.

SN: At this stage of your career do you feel like you’ve settled into a rhythm?

GW: No. I don't think I'll ever feel settled until I'm performing more consistently. I know the level I can play at but for the last few years there have only been flashes of my very best snooker. And flashes just aren’t good enough. I never expect to play well all of the time — nobody does — but there are plenty of other players in the top 20 who stay at a pretty good level most of the time. Their dips in form are nowhere near as bad as mine are. I’ve said this many times in the last few years but I’m just searching for that consistency and that next level. I feel like I need to up my level to really get the heart pounding and that doesn’t happen as often as it should. I want to get to the point where I’m excited to be part of the tour, excited to be playing in the big games and excited for what’s to come. I need to play better to enjoy the game more. It’s as simple as that.

SN: How do you make that step up and guarantee that enjoyment?

GW: I don't know. In one sense, I'm honestly a bit lost. It feels like sometimes you're turning up day after day to the club, doing your job, practising and just wondering what you're actually trying to achieve here. As much as I've said I know there's more there — because I know what I'm capable of and I know how I can play — if it's not happening in matches then I wonder why. You can sit and analyse the situation and sometimes and you go ‘well is that because my opponents are just making it difficult or is that because I'm making it difficult for myself because of the pressures, knowing that my opponents are good and if you miss they're going to make it difficult for me’? You're working all of this out and you're wondering why you're not playing to the level that you know you can. I don't really know how or what it is that I can do, other than what I've already tried over the years.

SN: Are you trying new approaches and listening to fresh advice?

GW: I'm speaking to people here and there. I'm trying to take on other perspectives. I'm trying to look at other players and see what they're doing. I'm trying to look at it from an objective point of view and not just be so blindsided by what I do and what I think is right. At the same time I’m not going to be silly, try everything and be bamboozled by the amount of advice that’s out there. I've got a strong sense of what I feel is right for me but I'm trying to take on board bits of other things. I'm 40 now and, over the next two or three years, I think, deep down, I just want more than anything to try and find my way, if that makes sense. But my way isn't always clear to me. I'm trying different things from month to month and tournament to tournament and maybe that's why my consistency isn't there. I'm chopping and changing things — whether that’s looking at my cue action or whether it’s trying to play a certain way or trying to relax more or try more.

SN: Is playing Judd Trump in round one at the Crucible a positive?

GW: When you're at the Crucible you don't care who you play. They're all great players at that stage and, honestly, I don't mind who I get drawn against. You can pick out names who are maybe in the bottom end of the top 16, who you wouldn't necessarily associate with being household names but, like me, they have a great opportunity. Get drawn against one of the bigger names and it might spur you on to raise your game. The draw, for me, is great. I played Judd in the semi-final in 2019 and I’m looking at this week as a rematch. I'll try to treat it like that, try to get my own back and see if I can use that match seven years ago as a bit of inspiration. I've known Judd since we were kids so I'm sure he knows it shouldn't be an easy game if I turn up and play as well as I can. If, as the lower seed, you can get through the first round then you pick up your opponent’s side of the draw and you can see a clear route through to the later stages. It’s an added incentive. Round one and the rest of the tournament are almost like two separate competitions. Get over the first hurdle and there’s a real chance to go deep into the worlds.

Watch Gary live on the BBC and TNT Sports from 10am on Tuesday.