Kyren Wilson beats 50-year-old John Higgins to win Masters snooker tournament

LONDON (AP) — Kyren Wilson won the Masters snooker tournament on Sunday, beating John Higgins 10-6 at London's Alexandra Palace to deny the 50-year-old Scot a third title at the prestigious event.

Higgins, a four-time world champion, was the oldest player to ever reach one of snooker's three so-called “Triple Crown” events — the Masters, the U.K. Championship and the world championship.

However, Higgins couldn't produce the level of performance he did in beating world champion Zhao Xintong in the quarterfinals and world No. 1 Judd Trump in the semifinals, and failed to back up his Masters titles in 1999 and 2006.

Wilson was playing in his third Masters final — the Englishman lost to Mark Allen in 2018 and Shaun Murphy last year — and led 5-3 after the afternoon session.

Higgins reduced the gap to 6-5 but Wilson powered to the victory target to finish off what he described as a “dogfight.”

“It was an absolute honor to share the table not with just a legend but an idol of mine,” said Wilson, who was the world champion in 2024.

Higgins said he was "just useless” in the final.

“Take no credit away — Kyren was by far the better player," Higgins said.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

England's Kyren Wilson in action against Scotland's John Higgins during the final of the 2026 Masters Snooker at Alexandra Palace, London, Sunday Jan. 18, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Scotland's John Higgins in action against England's Judd Trump on day seven of the 2026 Masters Snooker at Alexandra Palace, London, Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Scotland's John Higgins celebrates his win against England's Judd Trump on day seven of the 2026 Masters Snooker at Alexandra Palace, London, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

England's Kyren Wilson in action against Scotland's John Higgins during the final of the 2026 Masters Snooker at Alexandra Palace, London, Sunday Jan. 18, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

MADRID (AP) — A high-speed train derailed in southern Spain on Sunday, jumping onto the track in the opposite direction and hitting an oncoming train in an accident that left at least 10 people dead, authorities said.

The evening train between Malaga and Madrid went off the rails and slammed into a train coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to the Spanish rail operator Adif.

Two Guardia Civil officials confirmed the death toll to The Associated Press by phone and text message. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.

Emergency services in Andalucia, the province where the accident happened, said it had recorded 25 people with severe injuries.

The regional Civil Protection chief, María Belén Moya Rojas, told Canal Sur that the accident happened in an area that is hard to reach.

Local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims, she said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following “the terrible news” from Cordoba.

“Tonight you are in my thoughts,” she wrote in Spanish.

ADIF said train services between Madrid and cities in Andalucia would not run Monday.

Wilson contributed to this report from Barcelona, Spain.

Passengers wait in the hall of Madrid train station on Sunday, January 18, 2026, following the announcement of the suspension of service due to an accident in which two trains derailed in Cordoba. ( Carlos Luján/Europa Press via AP)