Wilson had a successful qualifying for the 2017 World Championship. Making a 147 in the fourth frame against Josh Boileau, he edged through 10–9. In the second qualifying round he defeated Peter Lines 10–7 and then Michael White 10–3. In his three matches he made eight centuries, more than double that of any other player. He rated the achievement of qualifying bigger than reaching the final of the China Open. On his debut in the event he played Ronnie O'Sullivan and rallied from 5–1 to only be 5–4 down after the first session. He fell 9–5 behind, before winning two frames in a row, but O'Sullivan then got the frame he needed to progress 10–7. Wilson made two century breaks during the match.