On February 26, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker European Masters ended the fifth matchday competition, and the final four were officially released. Following last month's German Masters, two more Chinese players reached the final four, Namely Fan Zhengyi and Liang Wenbo. At the German Masters, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao met in the final and won the first and second places. This time the European Masters, can Fan Zhengyi and Liang Wenbo meet again in the final?
This season, Chinese players have performed well, represented by Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, who won the British Championship and the German Masters championship, ranking first in a single season. At the German Masters in January, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao joined hands to advance to the final four, and both won in the semi-finals and met in the finals. In the final, Zhao Xintong defeated Yan Bingtao 9-0, which was impressive.
Zhao Xintong's outbreak and transformation inspired other Chinese players, and just 28 days later, two more Chinese players advanced to the final four of the professional tour, that is, Fan Zhengyi and Liang Wenbo, and only 21-year-old Fan Zhengyi was a bit comparable to Zhao Xintong's posture, because his and Zhao Xintong's achievements were very gold-rich.
Still to say that in the German Masters, Zhao Xintong defeated Mark Williams, Trump, Rich Walton, Yan Bingtao and other masters at that time, and that championship was indeed too gold-rich. At the European Masters, Fan Zhengyi defeated Karen Wilson, Yan Bingtao and David Gilbert to advance to the final four and create the best record of his career.
Behind the outbreak of young players is the overall progress of China's snooker, Fan Zhengyi's previous record was mediocre, but now he has reached the top eight and four of the professional tournament consecutively, and his self-confidence has been improved, considering that Fan Zhengyi's opponent in the semi-final is veteran Graeme Dort, Fan Zhengyi has a full chance to reach the final.
In addition, while the young players have made progress, our veterans are also training hard, and Liang Wenbo has finally come out of the trough and reached the final four of the professional tour for the second time this season. Although the semi-final opponent is the winning big favorite O'Sullivan, Liang Wenbo, who has released the pressure, also has a chance to find a breakthrough in O'Sullivan. Will the Chinese players once again win the championship and runners-up as they did 28 days ago?
Finally, there is also an expectation, our young players continue to erupt, and veterans like Liang Wenbo are also trying to find their best state, when will Ding Junhui come out of the trough? He is still a representative figure of China's snooker and is looking forward to his Jedi Strike Back!