On January 9, 2022, Beijing time, the Masters, one of the three major competitions of Snooker, kicked off, and on the first match day, China's famous Yan Bingtao opened the game, as the defending champion, he will face world champion Mark Williams in the first round. Another world champion, Neil Robertson, faces Anthony McGill, and it should be said that the two matchmakings on the first matchday were very interesting.
The Snooker Masters are contested by 16 top players, including two Chinese players, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong. In the case of Ding Junhui's sluggish state, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong stepped forward, the former winning the last Masters, and the latter laughing at the British Championship this season. Two young players won the three major championships with extreme weight, and China's snooker showed a strong upward posture.
Before participating in the Masters, Yan Bingtao moved to a new home, and he said in an interview that he hoped to fully defend the Masters championship, and he seemed confident. Zhao Xintong participated in the Champions League and entered the winner group with an impressive record of 8 wins, which can be said to be quite outstanding. Unfortunately, the two Chinese players are in the upper half, and if both reach the quarterfinals, they will have a direct dialogue in the quarterfinals, that is, the top four of this Masters can see the figure of a Chinese player at most.
Of course, there's no point in thinking about it so much, the most important thing at the moment is to try to get through the first round. Yan Bingtao will appear on the first match day and will play the opener against world champion Mark Williams. As a veteran, Mark Williams' competitiveness has declined slightly from before, but he is still strong, and he and Higgins are completely different styles of play, which needs to be adapted to by Yan Bingtao. The opening match is the defending champions against the world champions, which is full of highlights.
Another match on the first matchday was world champion Neil Robertson vs. Anthony McGill, and heading into 2022, Neil Robertson has yet to play an official match, and it is still unknown whether he can get into form quickly. His opponent, Anthony McGill, ranked 14th in the world, is a very tenacious player, and for Neil Robertson, Anthony McGill is definitely a bone to gnaw on, and it is particularly important to play on the spot.
According to the schedule, the match between Yan Bingtao and Mark Williams will start at 21:00 Beijing time on January 9, 2022, and the match between Neil Robertson and Anthony McGill will start at 3:00 am on January 10, 2022. I hope that all the players can play at the best level and dedicate the most wonderful games, and I also hope that Yan Bingtao's defending journey can make a good start, if he can beat the world champion in the first round, it will also let Yan Bingtao gain stronger self-confidence, come on!