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Kyren Wilson secured the Masters 2026 title on Sunday evening, defeating John Higgins 10-6 at Alexandra Palace. It was a very tense encounter in London, with both players producing huge errors in clutch moments.

However, Wilson came out on top and as well as the title itself, he has been rewarded with £350,000 for his efforts at the table. Despite this, the English competitor is set to lose out on a huge amount of it due to taxes, fees and tour stucture.

The biggest hit to his prize money comes from tax. Being a resident of the United Kingdom, Wilson's £350,000 is treated as income. Being a high-earner at well above £125,140, the money is subject to a 45% additional rate, with around £157,000 going to the tax man - assuming the full prize is taxed at this rate.

Secondly, the World Snooker Tour will then take their own cut - a 2.5% levy. The money taken from the pot by them is usually reinvested into the game and facilities. This will see Wilson lose another £8,750 which takes the total loss to £133,890.

More deductions will come from professional expenses. Top stars like Wilson will have a lot of people to pay, with management and agent fees to account for. There are also further charges for trvael and lodging during the tournament. In terms of the people around him, they could easily charge between 5% and 10%, so could be asking for between £17,500 and £35,000. Assuming it's the latter, the total sits at a whopping £168,890, meaning his take home pay will be around £180,000.

An interesting loss comes in the form of ranking points rather than money. While winning any other major tournament would add ranking points, the Masters is an invitational event and only 16 players take part, which means the prize money does not count towards the Official World Rankings. Wilson is currrently seeded second so if the points had counted he would have come within touching distance of number one Judd Trump.

Wilson was hugely emotional after the match and spoke to the BBC about his achievement. "In 2018 I lost in the final and cried and I'm trying not to cry now as it means so much to me," Wilson told BBC Sport. "It was an honour and privilege to share the table with an idol of mine. It was just an absolute dogfight and I tried to be as dogged as John has been over the years, and that is why he has been so successful. I'm glad he's managed to give me one for a change.

"I never make it easy for myself. I always seem to do it the hard way. I don't know why, it frustrates the life out of me but I will always give it my all. Even if I'm struggling I will fight until the end until I finally get my hands on some silverware."

The next big event in the snooker world is the German Masters, which takes place in Berlin from January 26 to February 1. Now that the Masters has been played, the final major of 2025/2026 is the World Championship, which will take place at the Crucible in Sheffield in April.

Wilson won the 2024 World Championship and will be hoping for a repeat of his efforts two years ago. A 'Triple Crown' in majors is off the table despite his Masters victory, with Mark Selby winning the UK Championship in December.