On January 30, 2022, Beijing time, the great news came from China's snooker, in the semi-finals of the German Masters, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao defeated their respective opponents and successfully met in the final. This is the third time in the history of snooker rankings that a Chinese derby has appeared in the final, and the previous two times have appeared at the peak of Ding Junhui, and the protagonist is Ding Junhui. Nine years later, the final lineup did not have Ding Junhui, but China Snooker gained a new generation of leaders.
In the past two seasons, Ding Junhui's state has been sluggish and the ranking has declined, and Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong have broken out one after another, and they have won the championship in the three major competitions and ushered in a major breakthrough in their careers. Winning the championship in the three major competitions also made the mentality of the two people change, and China Snooker was finally no longer Ding Junhui alone. This time at the German Masters, Ding Junhui did not even get a regular seat, and Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao stepped forward again.
Zhao Xintong eliminated Mark Williams and Trump successively, facing Rich Walton in the semi-finals, Zhao Xintong won five consecutive sets after falling behind 1-3 to eliminate his opponents 6-3 and advance to the final. The whole game, in fact, Zhao Xintong's performance was not as good as before, there were many mistakes, but in the face of the backward situation, Zhao Xintong withstood the pressure, and locked in the win with a 100 point in the ninth set, getting closer and closer to his second ranking championship.
In the second semi-final, Yan Bingtao played against Mark Allen, in which Yan Bingtao, who was 1-2 behind, won three consecutive sets, mark Allen scored a single 104 point in the seventh set, but then in the eighth set, Yan Bingtao seized the opportunity to win the match point 5-3. Mark Allen saved a match point, he had the opportunity to drag the game into the decider, but the tenth set of the first start of the mistake, Yan Bingtao later voluntarily admitted that he hit the foul, even so, Mark Allen failed to win the game.
Yan Bingtao scored several difficult balls in a row in the last minute, and made a wonderful snooker, Mark Allen had no choice, Yan Bingtao won the tenth set 71-52, and eliminated Mark Allen 6-4 to advance to the final. The success of the two young Chinese players in the final, which is the third time in the history of the ranking tournament that a Chinese derby has appeared in the final, the previous two times appeared in 2013, the peak of Ding Junhui, when the opponents were Xiao Guodong and Fu Jiajun, this time without Ding Junhui, China Snooker gained a new generation of leaders.
Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong represent the future of Snooker, and they will inspire young Chinese players to continue to work hard and make progress. In fact, today's snooker pattern has slowly changed, the new generation of British does not have particularly prominent players, this is a good opportunity for China's snooker to catch up, of course, we hope that Ding Junhui will find his peak state, we also hope that all young players in China can make progress, like Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao. The Spring Festival is coming, and winning the championship and runner-up is of course a big gift, wishing the two young people the best in the final and dedicating the most exciting competition!