On April 23, 2022, Beijing time, the first stage of the match between Yan Bingtao and Selby has ended, the score is 4-4, still in the same running line. In the game, Yan Bingtao staged a good play of extreme reversal many times, and in the third set, there was also a performance of breaking 100 single strokes, and the world champion Selby slapped the table continuously and praised the Chinese teenager Yan Bingtao.
At this World Championship, four Chinese players appeared in Crucible, including seeded players Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, and qualifiers Ding Junhui and Lu Haotian. After Ding Junhui was out, Chinese fans expected Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao to provoke the beams, and even some fans expected the two young players to meet in the final. However, Zhao Xintong is in a sluggish state, facing Stephen Maguire's high-intensity defense, he seems to have little to do, and is currently behind 5-11 and facing an exit.
Compared with Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao is more stable, and his game strategy is also very correct, try to slow down the rhythm and grasp every detail, especially in the first half of the game, Yan Bingtao's performance is too mature, and it is impossible to imagine that this is the performance of a post-00 player.
For example, in the second set, Selby played a single 54 points, Yan Bingtao once fell behind by more than 60 points, but he still seized the opportunity to complete the extreme reversal 74-67, which made Yan Bingtao gain self-confidence. Then came the third set, Yan Bingtao could attack, but there was some risk, he chose to defend, made a wonderful snooker, this snooker let Selby consecutive fouls, the opportunity returned to Yan Bingtao's hands.
Yan Bingtao played a single shot to break the hundred, this shot broke the hundred is quite wonderful, not only the attack accuracy is high, the mother ball position is also quite wonderful. After clearing the stage, the audience broke out into warm applause, Yan Bingtao was also very excited, his opponent Selby got up, walked to the table and shot three times in a row, everyone knows what this means, Selby praised Yan Bingtao's performance, this round is indeed wonderful.
After the 4th and 6th innings, Yan Bingtao came in after Selby played a single shot of 50+, expanding the score to 4-2, it is a pity that the last moment of the first stage lost 2 consecutive sets and failed to get the lead, but this performance is already excellent. If this performance is continued next, on the basis of which to reduce mistakes and improve the ability to score consecutive points, Yan Bingtao has a chance to eliminate Selby.
The World Championships is the highest level of competition, testing the comprehensive strength of players, Zhao Xintong although the attack is very strong, but rely on the state of the field, comparatively speaking, Yan Bingtao is more adapted to such a game, because his comprehensive strength is more average, the choice of key moments is also very reasonable. In many ways, he is very similar to Selby, may be a little slow pace, but the effect is very good, good luck to Yan Bingtao!