On February 28, Beijing time, the final of the 2022 Snooker European Masters was over, and Fan Zhengyi, a Chinese young player who was only ranked 80th in the world before the game, led five times in the big score and was equalized five times, and finally won the championship 10-9 against the big favorite O'Sullivan, 21-year-old He won the first ranking championship of his career, becoming the sixth Chinese mainland player to win the ranking championship after Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo, Fu Jiajun, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong.
At the award ceremony, Fan Zhengyi looked unusually calm and calm, barely squeezing out a smile after kissing the trophy, he was as introverted as the famous players of China's snooker, and there was another "cold-faced killer" who did not talk much in the snooker class.
Debut is the peak
Beat the idol to win the first title
Fan Zhengyi, only 21 years old, 2018-19 season officially began professional competition, so far only participated in 561 games, career so far only 9 times single shot to break the hundred, no 147, not to mention the honor of the championship, the world ranked 80th, this European Masters he black to the end.
In this event, Fan Zhengyi's state and feel are surprisingly good, and from the first round, he has been passing all the way. After beating the world's top 10 player Karen Wilson, Fan Zhengyi has undergone a dramatic change in self-confidence. In the battle for the quarter-finals, he defeated China's Yan Bingtao, the champion of last season's Masters and now ranked 13th in the world, and then defeated two well-known veterans, Gilbert and Dort, to reach the final of the ranking tournament for the first time in his career.
In the final, facing his idol O'Sullivan, Fan Zhengyi took the lead many times but was equalized, facing the powerful O'Sullivan, under the pressure of his own chaos, and finally won the championship 10-9 thrillingly, showing excellent psychological quality, which can be described as a teenager. "Just being able to play the final with O'Sullivan is already a dream come true for me, he is an idol for almost every Chinese player, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao also admire him because he is always generous to us, and I am honored to learn some experience from him." Fan Zhengyi said modestly after the game.
In O'Sullivan's view, the Chinese teenager in front of him really deserves this victory and sends a fairly high evaluation: "Fan Zhengyi played some wonderful anglo-global and offensive tonight, and the whole game was a better player, and it was a pleasure to compete with a future world champion." ”
Girlfriend said after the game
His English is actually OK
Fan Zhengyi has a childish face, which is definitely a strange player for most fans. Born in 2001, he began to play billiards at the age of 5 and was once favored by Wu Wenzhong, who is known as the "godfather" of Chinese snooker, who is also Ding Junhui's coach. Wu Wenzhong once said that Fan Zhengyi has a high understanding of snooker, and is diligent and studious, positive and self-motivated, and the prospects are bright. This prediction became a reality at the 2022 European Masters.
Fan Zhengyi's girlfriend has also become the focus of attention of netizens because of her outstanding appearance. Seeing that Fan Zhengyi finally won the championship, she said excitedly: "Baby's efforts have finally borne fruit, congratulations on winning the first championship, there are more difficulties waiting for you to overcome in the future." She also revealed Fan Zhengyi's next itinerary: "He will return to China after playing the British Championship, and then we will go to the UK together." ”
For the post-match award ceremony, Fan Zhengyi asked Chinese translator to help, his girlfriend said that he is currently training in Sheffield, he and Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao as training partners, the usual English level is OK, only this time because of the first time to win the championship, feel a little nervous, so directly talked about Chinese. However, she said that "this is very good, showing the Chinese language and culture."
Snooker is trendy
Chinese players dominate
According to the latest world rankings, Fan Zhengyi climbed 49 places after winning the championship, rising from 80th to 31st. Selby, O'Sullivan and Trump were in the top three, Zhao Xintong was 7th, Yan Bingtao was 13th, and Ding Junhui fell to 33rd.
From this world ranking, it is not difficult to see that in the past year, China's young generation of snooker players has risen in an all-round way: in January 2021, "post-00s" Yan Bingtao won the snooker Masters championship; in December 2021, "post-90s" Zhao Xintong won the British Championship; in January 2022, the German Masters, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao met in the final, Zhao Xintong finally won the championship; in February 2022, "post-00s" Fan Zhengyi won the European Masters, and Chinese snooker players have won the championship four times in the past year or so, which is impressive.
After Ding Junhui, Fu Jiajun and Liang Wenbo, Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong, and Fan Zhengyi formed the "New Three Masters" of China's snooker. With 64 places in the European Masters, as many as 15 Chinese legions participated. It is no wonder that O'Sullivan said in a recent interview that Chinese players dominating the snooker world are gradually becoming a reality. 'I think in another 10 years, snooker will probably become dominated by Chinese players like table tennis, because almost all the players are from Asia, and I don't see any young European players with a talent comparable to these Chinese children."
Text/Qiu Ye
Photo/ Weibo, Xinhua News Agency, World Snooker official website