As the final battle of the 2021-2022 season, the 2022 World Snooker Championships will be staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK, from April 16 to May 2. This is the highest level event in the world taiwan world once a year, and the qualifying tournament of the World Championships is currently being held locally.
This time, a total of 25 Chinese players participated in the World Championship Qualification Tournament, plus Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, who ranked in the top 16 in the world and directly participated in the main tournament, as many as 27 Chinese golfers participated in the World Championships. Although the World Championships have not yet begun, the season that is about to pass can be regarded as a fruitful season for Chinese snooker players.
The veteran is looking forward to returning to the top
Ding Junhui, the "chinese brother" who has attracted much attention from the outside world, will play in the third round of the qualifiers on April 10, Beijing time, and he will play against his compatriot Tian Pengfei, who has passed the second round. Ding Junhui, who just celebrated his 35th birthday at the beginning of the month, has recently been practicing hard in Sheffield, hoping to grab the tickets to the World Championships in the best condition. The once-talented teenager has now officially entered the "golden age" of snooker players.
On his birthday on April 1, Ding Junhui did not give himself a holiday, but stayed at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy (UK) he founded to practice hard and make final preparations for the upcoming World Championship qualification tournament. As the heaviest of the three snooker competitions, only the top 16 players in the world ranking are eligible to enter the main event directly. Ding Junhui, who ranked 30th, will start from the third round of the qualifiers this time and win two consecutive rounds to get the main tournament place. If he can successfully qualify for the main competition, this will be Ding Junhui's 16th appearance in Crucible.
The last time Ding Junhui experienced the test of the World Championship qualifications, it was back in 2016. In that season of poor form, he found his hand in the World Championships and made it all the way to the final, although he regrettably lost to Selby to finish second. Rising from the trough, the hard work and courage to counterattack all the way is exactly what Ding Junhui needs most today. "The World Championships are important to every snooker player and I've been working hard to prepare for winning the World Championship and looking forward to this day. I was really not in good shape at the beginning of the season, and many times I was not ready to win the game, but I wanted to win, which caused a very big psychological burden. I never thought I would always be at a low ebb. I believe that I will try to find my best self. Ding Junhui said.
Newcomers are eager to continue to break through
In contrast, Ding Junhui's two young disciples, Zhao Xintong (ranked seventh in the world) and Yan Bingtao (ranked 16th in the world), competed as seeded players in the world championships. The two have performed prominently this season, especially the 25-year-old Zhao Xintong won the British Championship and the German Masters in a single season, ranking second in the world in a single season, and the highest ranking of all Chinese golfers.
On January 31 this year, the 2022 Snooker German Masters decided the winner at the Tempdu Concert Hall in Berlin, and rising star Zhao Xintong won the "China Derby" with 22-year-old rising star Yan Bingtao 9-0. It was the former's second title of the season after winning the British Championship eight weeks ago. The two championships were only 56 days apart, and Zhao Xintong became the player who won the second championship in the shortest time after winning the first championship in the ranking competition in history.
Different from Ding Junhui's sophistication and comprehensiveness and Yan Bingtao's tenacity and momentum, Zhao Xintong's playing style is more offensive. Last season's technical statistics of the World Taiwan Federation showed that Zhao Xintong's average time to play was 17.79 seconds, ranking second in the world in this speed. Watching his game always reminds people of the "Rockets" O'Sullivan when he was young.
O'Sullivan, who once compared Zhao Xintong to Federer in the taiwan altar, commented on Zhao Xintong, "There is no doubt that he is talented. But Hendry was already a ranking champion at the age of 17, and Zhao needed to hurry up and get himself to a certain height. ”
As "Rocket" said, for the young generation of Chinese snooker players represented by Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, they will not be satisfied with winning one or two ranking championships, but hope to continuously improve their strength and let Chinese players occupy a higher position in the world stage. In this regard, Zhao Xintong said, "I need to strengthen my defense, but also be more careful and patient." Winning the ranking tournament boosted my confidence and gave me confidence that I could do better in the future and win more races. ”
The above images are provided by the World Federation of Taiwan