In the early morning of December 16, Beijing time, the World Snooker Grand Prix held in Coventry, England, took the lead in producing two quarter-final seats, and Chinese player Yan Bingtao occupied one of them. After Zhao Xintong and Cao Yupeng were eliminated one after another, Yan Bingtao also became the "only seedling" of Chinese players in this competition. Yan Bingtao swept the "Glasses Man" Gould Zhou 4-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the first round, it was Martin Gould who eliminated Zhao Xintong, who had just won the British Championship not long ago (4-2), which showed that the veteran was also quite strong. However, when it came to Yan Bingtao, Gould became unable to make it strong, and the whole process was passive, and he did not win a round. Comparing the process and results of these two games, it is not that Zhao Xintong is inferior to Yan Bingtao, here is not a problem of equal substitution, but Yan Bingtao's way of playing is more practical and applicable, aiming at Gould's weaknesses, constantly disrupting Gould's offensive rhythm and making it follow his own rhythm. In all 4 innings, the two scored piecemeal, none of them scored more than 100, only Yan Bingtao scored a 50+ in the first set.
Yan Bingtao never attacked strongly, and when encountering a complicated situation, he turned to defense and then waited for an opportunity, which achieved good results. Analysis of Yan Bingtao's playing style can conclude that although the young player born in 2000 does not win much, the game process is slower, somewhat similar to Mark Selby's style of play, but it always brings good news to the fans, he is very adaptable to the game, the state is not good and can be adjusted soon, which is the focus that most young players need to improve, Yan Bingtao already has it. And the light attack is not strong enough, Yan Bingtao's defense is also very critical, in the 7 innings and 4 wins are very easy to explode the format, Yan Bingtao seeks stability and truth, not in a hurry to win the game, such a way of play has also obtained good results.
Yan Bingtao, currently ranked 16th in the world, won the championship by beating Higgins in the final of the Masters earlier this year, becoming the first post-00s three major champions. Although Zhao Xintong won the British Championship and became the highest-ranked Chinese player in the world, the overall performance was more stable than Yan Bingtao. Just this season, Yan Bingtao reached the crown of the central championship, the final four of the Northern Ireland Open, and the quarterfinals of the English Open, becoming the farthest Chinese player in many competitions, and hoped that he would bring another surprise to the fans at the end of the year.
Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin