On January 30, 2022, Beijing time, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao won the semi-finals successively, and they met in the final of the German Masters, and the final of the ranking tournament appeared for the third time in the history of the Chinese derby. Such a result has exploded on social media, in China and the United Kingdom, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong have become the focus of fan discussion, instantly rushing to the hot search, and even some fans said that this final is like a young version of O'Sullivan against Selby.
In the past few seasons, the overall pattern of the snooker stage has not changed much, the protagonists are O'Sullivan, Higgins, Mark Williams, Trump, Selby and Neil Robertson, most of the games are the 75s and the post-80s Big Three. In contrast, post-90s players and post-00s players are difficult to become protagonists, they only have good results occasionally, until this season, post-90s and post-00s players began to show their strength.
Judging from the performance of this season, the representative figure of the post-90s is Zhao Xintong, and the representative figure of the post-00s is Yan Bingtao, and the two are good friends, training and playing together. The two also have one thing in common, that is, they have made breakthroughs in the three major competitions, Yan Bingtao won the Masters Championship, Zhao Xintong was crowned the British Championship champion, and winning the three major championships was also the beginning of their transformation.
In contrast, Yan Bingtao is relatively low-key, showing a maturity that does not match his age, this German Masters, he defeated David Gilbert, Mark Selby, Ryan Day and Mark Allen, two of which played to the decider, which is not easy for a post-00 player.
Zhao Xintong has long shouted out the goal of competing for the second ranking championship, and he has even begun to look forward to the World Championship, eliminating Mark Williams, Tom Ford, Trump and Richie Wharton, Zhao Xintong is indeed close to his second ranking championship. The Chinese New Year is coming, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao will meet in the final of the ranking tournament, which is a New Year gift, and Chinese fans are cheering.
The two young people quickly rushed to the hot search, and British fans said that Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong were the future of snooker, and the young Chinese players were improving too fast. Some fans also said that this final is a young version of O'Sullivan vs. Selby, because in the eyes of many people, Zhao Xintong's style is very similar to O'Sullivan and Trump, and Yan Bingtao's style is similar to Selby. Of course, they are still far from the top masters, which is exactly the direction of their efforts.
The final will start at 21:00 on The evening of January 30, and the winner will be decided on the morning of January 31, which is precisely the Chinese New Year's Eve china. As the two said, no matter whether you win or lose, you must first enjoy the game, this is the victory of Chinese snooker, and Chinese fans should also enjoy it!