The opening match of the 2022 World Snooker Tour Championship has ended, and unfortunately, the top seed of the tournament, China's Zhao Xintong, lost 5 consecutive sets in the case of a big score lead, and finally lost to Higgins and did not qualify for the final four. After the game, Zhao Xintong said in an interview that he had a problem with his mentality in the game and failed to maintain the advantage to the end in the case of the dominant scene. After being eliminated in the first round, Zhao Xintong looked very frustrated, but he also said that this game is worth summarizing and needs to learn lessons in the future.
This tournament is the 15th ranking match of the 2022 World Snooker Tour, and only the top 8 players in a single season will be eligible.
Before the game, Zhao Xintong's performance attracted a lot of attention. As last season's British Championship champion and winner of the German Masters this season, Zhao Xintong has become one of the world's top snooker masters. Previously, the World Taiwan Federation has announced the world rankings, and Zhao Xintong ranks seventh, the highest ranking among Chinese snooker players.
Therefore, in this tour, everyone is optimistic about Zhao Xintong winning the championship. According to the rules of the format, the tournament starts from the quarter-finals, and it only takes 3 rounds to determine the winner, and each match adopts a 19-game and 10-win format and is played in 2 stages. The first game was a strong dialogue between Zhao Xintong and Higgins. Judging from the progress of the game, both of them played a very high level, and it is a pity that Zhao Xintong failed to turn the advantage into a winning situation. In the opening stage, Zhao Xintong felt hot, played a 3-stroke score of breaking 100, and took an 8:4 lead in the big score.
Many people thought that Zhao Xintong would win the game without suspense, but the experienced Higgins staged a Jedi counterattack afterwards. In the end, Higgins won 5 consecutive sets and defeated Zhao Xintong 10:9 to successfully reach the semifinals. It was the tenth meeting between the two, after Higgins had the slight upper hand with a 5-4 record. Missing the semi-finals, Zhao Xintong also lost the opportunity to win the first snooker tour championship in his career. For the ups and downs of this game, many netizens have their own opinions. Some people believe that Zhao Xintong lost in a lack of characterization, and lacked concentration after taking the lead, resulting in many mistakes in handling the scoring ball, and Higgins, who has experienced hundreds of battles, naturally does not miss the opportunity to counterattack.
Some netizens also pointed out that Zhao Xintong and Higgins were slightly more immature in the on-the-spot response, and did not find an effective remedy after encountering difficulties. After that, Zhao Xintong will also participate in the masters, invitational tournaments and other sub-stations, he himself also said that although this race left a lot of regrets, but the season has just begun, he will continue to work hard to find a stronger self. Higgins also gave comfort and encouragement to Zhao Xintong in front of the camera, saying that Zhao Xintong is very young, and after the baptism and training of the competition, he will definitely get more championships.
(Luo Treasurer)