In the early morning of April 24, Beijing time, the 2022 Snooker World Championships ended all the matches on the 8th matchday of the main tournament. In the final game, the 16th seed of the tournament, China's young player Yan Bingtao, in the second stage of the big score 9-7 lead, the third stage first won 2 sets and lost 3 consecutive sets, and finally with the third shot of the game to break the hundred, with a large score of 13-10 victory over the top seed of the tournament, defending champion Mark Selby, becoming the fourth player to advance to the top 8 of this World Championship. He will face No. 8 seed Mark Williams in the quarter-finals.
The 2022 World Snooker Championships will be held from 16 April to 2 May at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK. The tournament is the final ranking match of the 2021/22 World Snooker Tour WST.
A total of 32 players qualified for the main competition, including 4 Chinese players. The tournament was divided into 5 rounds, for a total of 31 matches. In terms of format, the first round is a 19-game 10-win system, divided into 2 stages; the second round and 1/4 finals are 25 rounds and a 13-win system, divided into 3 stages; the semi-final is 33 sets with a 17-win system, and the final is a 35-set 18-win system, all of which are divided into 4 stages. The prize money for the winner is £500,000 and the prize money for the runners-up is £200,000.
This is Yan Bingtao and Selby's fourth matchup of the season, and the first time the two sides have met at the World Championships. In the previous 7 meetings, the Chinese youngster has the upper hand with 4 wins and 3 losses, especially in the first 3 competitions of the season, Yan Bingtao has won 3 consecutive wins. The most recent meeting between the two sides was in the second round of the German Masters in January, when Yan Bingtao narrowly won 5-4.
In this game, in the first stage, although Yan Bingtao only shot 1 to break the hundred, he still played a big score of 4-4 with Selby, who shot 5 and 50+. In the second stage, Yan Bingtao took a 9-7 lead with a 1-shot breaker and a 1-shot 90+, as well as a solid defense.
After the start of the third stage, both sides still focused on defense. In the first two sets, Yan Bingtao won 61-47 and 63-52 after several starts, leading 11-7.
In the next 3 sets, Selby found the feel, and blasted 1 hundred and 2 par 80+ consecutively, 86-0, 117-16 and 88-0 in three consecutive sets, and the big score was chased to 10-11.
In the 22nd inning, the two sides fought a "hell mode" defensive battle - according to official statistics, this set the longest single set in Crucible's history, and the two fought for 85 minutes before the winner was divided. In the end, Yan Bingtao won 63-49, and won the match point 12-10. In the 23rd set, Yan Bingtao scored the third personal score of the game to break the hundred, winning with 112 (112) to 0, winning 13-10, and advancing to the quarterfinals.
It was his fourth consecutive victory over Selby this season and the first to beat an opponent in a 13-win game in 25 innings. Next, he will face No. 8 seed Mark Williams in the quarter-finals.