On December 17, Beijing time, the snooker World Grand Prix began a quarter-final competition, and China's Yan Bingtao lost two consecutive sets in the case of winning the match point 4-3, losing Neil Robertson 4-5 and missing the final four. Although he lost the game, Yan Bingtao still had good news, the two fierce rivals Lisovsky and Luka Brechel were out, Yan Bingtao temporarily held the seed seat, the ranking did not drop but rose, from 16th to 15th place before the game. Yan Bingtao's outstanding performance has also been affirmed by his opponents.
In this competition, 3 Chinese people won the opportunity to participate, namely Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao and Cao Yupeng. Zhao Xintong and Cao Yupeng were both out of the first round, and Yan Bingtao went alone. After eliminating Mark King and Martin Gould, Yan Bingtao reached the quarterfinals. In the quarter-finals, Yan Bingtao met world champion Neil Robertson, although the opponent is very strong, but since Yan Bingtao became a professional player, he has not lost the upper hand against Neil Robertson.
In the game, the two competed fiercely, Yan Bingtao fell behind 1-2, 2-3, but he won two consecutive sets after that, but instead took the lead 4-3 to get the match point. Neil Robertson won the eighth set, dragging the match into the decider. In the last moment, Yan Bingtao had the opportunity to win with one shot, but unfortunately, the mother ball was not in an ideal position, and the attack was suddenly interrupted. Neil Robertson also made a low-level mistake at a crucial moment, giving Yan Bingtao a second chance, but unfortunately he missed the opportunity again, losing the decider 60-70 and missing the final four.
Judging from the performance of the whole game, Yan Bingtao played well, but the key ball was not as good as the opponent, and there was still a lot of room for improvement in the control of the mother ball, and this defeat was indeed regrettable. After the game, Neil Robertson and Yan Bingtao shook hands and greeted each other, the two also had a brief chat, as a superstar, Neil Robertson also affirmed Yan Bingtao's performance and progress.
Although Yan Bingtao lost the game, there is still good news, at least in 2021, he held the top 16 position in the world, because his two big competitors are also out, that is, Luka Brecher and Lissovsky.
Lisovsky is 17th, a small gap from Yan Bingtao, but unfortunately he was overturned by Stephen Maguire with a 3-1 lead and missed the quarterfinals 3-4. Luka Brechel lost 3-4 to Jimmy Robertson and also missed the quarterfinals. In this way, Yan Bingtao's world ranking will not drop but rise, ranking 16th before the game, and currently coming to 15th. While Luka Brechel dropped to 16th, Lisovsky remained in 17th.
However, the gap between the three is very small, and the next competition will be more intense, and the January 2022 match will be particularly important. I hope that Yan Bingtao will continue to work hard, achieve good results in the next competition, and finally step into Crucible as a seeded player!