On April 4, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker World Championship officially began, and in the first round of the qualification round, Zhao Jianbo, Xu Si, Zhang Jiankang, Zhang Anda, Chen Zifan and other 5 Chinese players took the lead. At the same time, the world championship seedings have also been determined, and if all goes well, Zhao Xintong is expected to play O'Sullivan again.
The first round of the qualifying round was a 6-of-11 set, with 12 matches scheduled for the first matchday, divided into three time slots. Five Chinese players took the lead, Zhao Jianbo, Xu Si, Zhang Jiankang, and Zhang Anda all appeared in the first time slot, which was 16:30 Beijing time on April 4, 2022.
Zhao Jianbo against Michael Jadzi, Xu Si against Michael Colombo, Zhang Jiankang against John Asteri, and Zhang Anda against Anton Kazakov. Chen Zifan will play at 2:30 a.m. the next day against Hamad Mia. It should be said that the opponents are relatively average in strength, and I hope that the 5 Chinese players can win all.
There were also several highlights on the first matchday, such as Andrew Padge against Jimmy White, Fraser Patrick vs. Michael White, and women's Snooker Nucharut Wangharute against Duane Jones.
Meanwhile, with the Tour Championships coming to an end, the world championship seedings were all determined, with the top four seeds being defending champions Selby, O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Trump. Selby and Trump are in the top half, with O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson in the bottom half, the four are clear favourites for this World Championship.
There are also two Chinese players among the seeded players, that is, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, Yan Bingtao is in the upper half of the district, he and Selby are in position, considering Selby's average state, Yan Bingtao is expected to make a breakthrough. Zhao Xintong is in the lower half of the zone, if the first round to defeat the qualifiers, the second round may be against the last World Championship runner-up winner Sean Murphy, once in the quarterfinals, the opponent in the quarterfinals is most likely O'Sullivan, everyone is looking forward to the direct dialogue between the two masters and apprentices at the World Championships!