From working behind a bar in Northampton to the Betfred World Snooker Championship semi-finals – Kyren Wilson has come a long way in six years.

Wilson currently trails John Higgins 5-3 in his best-of-33 semi-final at the Crucible Theatre but the fact the Kettering cueman in this situation is impressive enough, considering he was a full-time barman at Barratts Club when Higgins was winning the most recent of his four world titles in 2011.

Now 26, Masters runner-up Wilson has had to fight his way to the top of the snooker tree and he’ll need all those battling qualities when he resumes his first-ever World Championship semi-final at 10am on Friday morning.

He did make a majestic break of 140 in frame seven of Thursday afternoon’s first session but runs of 57, 65, 77 and 69 helped Higgins establish a two-frame cushion overnight.

The world No.9 has never forgotten his roots and admits he is still occasionally incredulous at just how far he’s come since pulling pints at Barratts when he dropped off the professional snooker tour from 2011 to 2013.

Fortunately, Wilson is much more comfortable on the baize than he was breaking up boisterous funeral parties but credits his time behind the bar for making him appreciate what he has with snooker.

“Sometimes I really do have to pinch myself,” said Wilson, who has earned £85,000 for reaching the last four in Sheffield and will take home £425,000 if he wins the tournament.

“I was working behind a bar – no disrespect to people that do work behind a bar but I was working for peanuts.

“Now I am coming to a snooker event where I can earn thousands and thousands of pounds and completely change my life.

“But I feel like it did me the world of good. I was taking snooker for granted before I did that – stepping into the real world and getting a real job made me appreciate the game again.

“On my very first shift at Barratts, I had never poured a pint in my life. The manager of the club put me on a firework display night in a gazebo with just barrels so, honestly the pint was bound to come out frothy and we had quite a few angry customers!

“I remember, there was quite a rowdy funeral in once that was quite bad. I couldn’t pour a pint to save my life – half of it was froth and half of it was beer!

“I was wasting so much alcohol, so I think Barratts were glad to see the back of me when I turned pro again!”

With snooker’s biggest name all coming towards the latter end of their careers – the other three semi-finalists at this year’s World Championship are 43, 42 and 39 years old – the sport is crying out for marketable young stars.

Wilson fits the bill – incredibly talented but also humble, likeable, laid-back and friendly, almost to a fault.

To meet him now you wouldn’t believe it, but the 26-year-old claims he has had to tame quite the temper that he used to have on the baize.

“I made [famously volatile Scottish player] Stephen Maguire look like a kitten,” laughed Wilson. “I was absolutely terrible.

“If we were playing in an amateur event I would bang my cue and the kid at the other end of the room wouldn’t have to see my face, he would just know it was me.

“I have never told my dad this but I actually had a cue once that he bought me and I lost my temper, threw my cue down on the table and snapped the top off.

“The next day I told my dad that I accidentally fell on it – so he’ll be happy when he sees that...

“I have learned to control my emotions but I feel like you need that fire in your belly to go on and do great things in the game.”

Watch the snooker World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.