Source: Sports Weekly
2021 is coming to an end, and during this year, the taiwan altar continues to operate with difficulty under the epidemic, and many memorable events have also occurred.
Yan Bingtao won the Masters
China's post-00s youngster Yan Bingtao defeated Higgins 10-8 in the final of the 2021 Masters, becoming China's second "three major competitions" champion after Ding Junhui. Not only is he the third young masters champion after O'Sullivan and Hendry, but he is also the sixth player in history to reach the top after his first entry.
Hendry made his comeback debut
On March 2, 2021, in the first round of the Snooker Gibraltar Open, billiards "Emperor" Hendry returned to the game after nine years of retirement and scored his 776th career breaker. However, Hendry's comeback was not smooth, and his debut was ultimately lost to Serte 1-4.
Selby won the World Championship
On May 4, 2021, Selby defeated Murphy 18-15 in the final of the 2021 Snooker World Championship to win the fourth title of his career World Championship. His total number of ranking titles exceeded the 20 mark.
Billiards returned to the Asian Games stage
On 13 March 2021, the Asian Federation of Billiards (ACBS) announced that billiards would reappear at the 2030 Asian Games in Doha. This is the return of billiards to the Asian Games after 20 years, after the 1998-2010 Asian Games in Bangkok, Busan, Doha and Guangzhou.
The Turkish Masters join the calendar
On 11 May 2021, WST officially announced that it will host its first professional tournament in Turkey for the 2021/22 season. With a total prize fund of £500,000, the tournament will be held in the tourist destination of Antalya, where 64 top players will travel to Turkey. However, this fateful event has been repeatedly postponed due to the impact of the epidemic, and it has not been able to start for a long time.
Trump crossed the competition
Former world Number One Trump traveled to Atlantic City this year to compete in the U.S. Open Pool Championship. Unfortunately, Trump did not complete the championship goal set before the game, and his first cross-border attempt ended with a double defeat.
Ding Junhui fell out of the TOP16
2019 British Championship champion Ding Junhui has been in a slump for nearly two years, he lost 3-6 to Cregie in the second round of the British Championship, and the world ranking fell directly out of the top 16. The defeat also doomed him to miss the Masters and to compete directly in the World Championships as a seeded player. In the subsequent competition, Ding Junhui still did not find his form, and after missing the well-funded Cazoo series, the ranking was further declining.
Zhao Xintong won the British Championship
On December 5, 2021, Chinese teenager Zhao Xintong made history at the British Championships – he defeated Belgian star Brechel 10-5 in the final to win the ranking championship for the first time, joining the camp of Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao and winning the title of "Three Major Competitions". He became the fifth Chinese player to win the ranking title after Ding Junhui, Fu Jiajun, Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao, and the fourth non-British British champion.