On April 27, 2022, Beijing time, the quarterfinals of the Snooker World Championship continued, and Chinese young player Yan Bingtao lost to world champion Mark Williams 11-13, missing the final four and regrettably out.
In this World Championship, Yan Bingtao once again showed maturity that did not match his age, facing defending champion Mark Selby in the second round, his patience and ability to grasp the key ball were commendable, although the consumption was great, Yan Bingtao still defeated Selby and reached the quarterfinals of the World Championship for the first time in his career. Young is Yan Bingtao's advantage, compared to the veteran, his physical strength and energy is of course no problem, and beating Selby also makes him more confident.
Facing Mark Williams in the third round, Yan Bingtao showed a strong ability to adjust, and in the case of falling behind 2-6 in the first stage, Yan Bingtao returned a 6-2 in the second stage, he not only defended well, but also performed significantly better than Mark Williams on the offensive end. Take the quality of a single shot, Yan Bingtao shot a hundred and two shots of 70+ in the second stage, while Mark Williams, who had a hot offensive hand before, did not have a single shot of more than 50 points.
All indications are that the balance of victory is beginning to tilt toward Yan Bingtao. To put it simply, Yan Bingtao is full of stamina and can withstand the pressure at key moments, while Mark Williams is older after all, and he wants to make a quick decision, but Yan Bingtao is not michael White and Jackson Peggy before, Yan Bingtao is more tenacious than them, and the comprehensive strength is more powerful. This is indeed a good opportunity for Yan Bingtao to continue to break through and even impact the world championship.
In the 17th inning, Mark Williams took the lead, but the offensive feel was still very general, only scored 18 points, Yan Bingtao then got started, played a single shot 62 points, directly overscored, Yan Bingtao successfully won this round, 9-8 lead, it can be said that the start was very good.
In the 18th set, Yan Bingtao's tee quality was average, mark Williams directly started, but his state was indeed very average, the good situation only scored 29 points, and the opportunity was given to Yan Bingtao again. Yan Bingtao's batting was very stable, and the mother ball was also excellent, he played a single shot of 102 points, leading 10-8.
In the 19th set, Mark Williams made a series of mistakes after the opening, but Yan Bingtao failed to seize the opportunity, but instead made a major mistake in the defense, mark Williams played a single 135 points to recover a set. Then, Mark Williams scored a difficult single-shot 40 points, the two turned to the defense, Yan Bingtao made many mistakes in defense, Mark Williams chased another set 72-0, and the big score came to 10 draws.
In the 21st set, both had a lot of mistakes, and Yan Bingtao had good luck at a critical moment, winning the crucial set 93-34 and leading again 11-10.
In the 22nd set, Mark Williams took the lead, playing a single 41 points after a mistake, Yan Bingtao had a good chance, but unexpectedly made a mistake, Mark Williams equalized again.
The game entered the ultimate three-game, two-win showdown, the two began a defensive battle, Yan Bingtao missed the opportunity, and Mark Williams scored 66 points to take the lead in the match point. In the 24th set, Yan Bingtao lost his hand on the bench, Mark Williams directly overtook the score, locked in the win, eliminated Yan Bingtao 13-11, advanced to the final four, and the semi-final match between Trump and Bingham.
At present, the world championship final four have decided two places, namely O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, Yan Bingtao although stopped in the quarterfinals, but the performance has been outstanding!