In the latest edition of the player rankings released by the World Federation of Taiwan Compatriots in February 2021, Yan Bingtao, a Chinese player who has only turned 21 after the Spring Festival, ranked 13th. Not surprisingly, he will become a seeded player at this season's Snooker World Championships with Ding Junhui, showing his strength on the highest stage in the world stage.
Yan Bingtao, who became famous at a young age, broke through from the qualifiers at the age of 17 in 2017 and reached the main tournament of the World Championships. But this year's World Championships clearly means a different meaning to him – with the title of Snooker Masters, Yan Bingtao has become the focus of attention like his role model Ding Junhui.
Will he become the second Ding Junhui? Or did he pick up the World Championship trophy before Ding Junhui?
Yan Bingtao lifted the Masters trophy
Victory in the Masters is a matter of course
Let's go back to the 2021 Snooker Masters final. China's "post-00s" rising star Yan Bingtao finally defeated Scotland's Higgins 10-8 in a 10-8 reversal after falling behind 3-5 on aggregate in the first stage. Winning the Masters for the first time, Yan Bingtao became the youngest Masters champion after the 19-year-old "Rocket" O'Sullivan in 1995, and the second Chinese player to win the Masters after Ding Junhui.
Yan Bingtao himself is very excited about winning the Masters Championship for the first time in his career, one of the "three major competitions" (world championships, British championships and masters) that symbolizes the highest honors in the snooker industry, but Zhang Dongtao, head coach of the CBSA World Snooker Academy who has guided Yan Bingtao for many years, said that all this is a matter of course.
According to Zhang Dongtao, Yan Bingtao won the youngest World Amateur Championship at the age of 14, and defeated world famous players such as O'Sullivan and Higgins in official competitions at the age of 17. All this is inseparable from the support given to young golfers by the Chinese Billiards Association. The China Taiwan Association not only provided them with wild cards in many competitions, but also built a good exercise platform. After winning the World Amateur Championship, Yan Bingtao also played in the Snooker World Cup under the arrangement of the Chinese Taiwan Association, laying a good foundation for his future career and accumulating competition experience. Last season, Yan Bingtao won the Snooker Players Tour Championship Riga Masters Championship, becoming the first "post-00s" ranking champion in history. This time, he won the Masters, proving that he has the strength of a world-class golfer.
"A lot of people say that Xiao Tao became famous in World War I, but I don't think so. As long as you see him in the past five or six years step by step from amateur to professional, and then from obscurity to the world's top 64, top 32, now the top 16, his efforts and self-discipline outside the competition, you will have the same feeling as me, these (champions) are sooner or later. Zhang Dongtao said.
Adversity reversal is the most powerful weapon
Yan Bingtao admitted after the game that his opponent Higgins in the Masters final said, "I would like to pay tribute to my opponent, who has won such a brilliant achievement at such a young age. There is no doubt that his future is limitless and he is expected to become a world champion. ”
Zhang Dongtao (right) and Yan Bingtao
For a long time in the past, the stage of the "three competitions" was reserved for newcomers to pay for school, but Yan Bingtao was obviously the teenager who broke the circle.
In this Year's Masters, Yan Bingtao experienced three deciders, with three narrow wins of 6-5 on aggregate, including Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and defending champion Stuart Bingham. Facing the 45-year-old "Wizard" Higgins, the 45-time world champion in the final, Yan Bingtao once again staged a reversal and won 5 of the last 6 innings of the final.
Maturity beyond age, calmness in the face of difficulties and patience when waiting for opponents to make mistakes have made Yan Bingtao repeatedly turn over in adversity. He said bluntly after the victory: "There have been several times when I have fallen behind I feel that I am about to lose the game, and when I return to my seat, I still choose to believe in myself." I did play calmly, and although I blamed myself when I made a mistake, I didn't give up the whole time. ”
For Yan Bingtao's excellent psychological quality, Zhang Dongtao was not surprised.
According to reports, Yan Bingtao followed Zhang Dongtao for professional training at the age of 11, and officially came to the World Snooker Academy for systematic practice at the age of 13. At that time, he was only one of the many potential snooker teenagers in China, but Zhang Dongtao saw at a glance that this child was not ordinary.
In order to train the resistance of small ball players to stress, the academy has set up a separate headwind ball training subject, and on weekends, it specially arranges 6 red balls against the headwind ball group competition. The so-called headwind ball is to let them play with the opponent in the case of falling behind by 30 points, and fully exercise the processing ability and psychological quality of the small golfer when facing adversity. Yan Bingtao has been in the headwind ball game since he was very young, and most of the games can be reversed to win. And when playing downwind, he hardly leaves his opponents with a chance to win.
"It's really not like the psychological qualities of a teenager, and since then I've focused on cultivating his mother-ball control, continuous offensive ability and defensive ability for his characteristics of this game, helping him build confidence in not panicking when encountering strong opponents and not giving up when encountering difficulties." This also became his most powerful 'weapon' when he participated in the World Series in the future. Zhang Dongtao said.
Juvenile old age is the most eye-catching label
Yan Bingtao's sudden rise made The Australian star Robertson, who has played with him many times in the game, feel very deeply: "Yan Bingtao is 20 years old this year, but he has the experience of some golfers who are 40 years old. The desire to win and the determination to work hard to win the championship, the qualities of these mature players can be concentrated in a young player, which is enough to prove his excellence. ”
I believe that anyone who has watched Yan Bingtao's game will temporarily forget his 20-year-old age. Whether it is his body looks or the serious look when playing, Yan Bingtao looks young and old. And this calmness and sophistication can sometimes put pressure on opponents, because they know that this is not an emotional player, and they will not surrender because of one or two mistakes.
For Yan Bingtao's youthful old age, Zhang Dongtao frankly said that half of it is born and half is the cultivation of the day after tomorrow.
According to Zhang Dongtao's recollection, Yan Bingtao first left him with the impression of "having the maturity of surpassing his peers", or a game when he was 11 years old, Yan Bingtao won a long shot, called a black ball, pushed down the black ball to continue to attack. But at that time, the white ball was very close to the library, and Yan Bingtao actually gave up the attack, but chose to play the yellow ball and did a defensive shot. "This kind of composure is basically invisible in teenage players, children are advocating offense, scoring, and the desire to win is very strong. Yan Bingtao exuded this big-picture view in his teens, reflecting his understanding and awareness of snooker. ”
In the future training, Zhang Dongtao also focused on cultivating Yan Bingtao's mind, urging him in his daily life, doing everything to be measured, knowing the advance and retreat, and not always trying to win with one move. Specific to the technical and tactical level, it is to focus on practicing the ability to solve the half-table difficulty ball and the chaotic situation, which will come in handy in future matches.
Of course, Yan Bingtao's calm style of play has also brought him a lot of trouble, in the first two years of his career, many fans think that his style of play is not sharp enough, the ball is not beautiful, and a lot of negative evaluations are given on the Internet. This also led him to change his style for a while, trying to play a game strategy based on offense. As a result, Yan Bingtao played a mess in the next few months. This also allowed him to recognize his own strengths and regain his rigorous style of play. Soon, his ranking climbed all the way up and stabilized in the top 32 in the world.
Chinese snooker "one brother" Ding Junhui
Will it be the second Ding Junhui?
Yan Bingtao won the Masters this time, and it is easy to remind the outside world of the past when 18-year-old Ding Junhui defeated the then 46-year-old Steve Davis in the final of the British Championship in 2005 to win the championship and became famous in one battle. To this day, Ding Junhui is the leader of China's snooker and is regarded as the most promising player for China to win the first snooker world championship.
And will Yan Bingtao, who is 13 years younger than Ding Junhui, become the second Ding Junhui, or conquer Crucible (the venue of the World Championships) before Big Brother?
Zhang Dongtao replied: "Ding Junhui's talent and technical ability, as well as his achievements, are the world's top level, and they are an example for all Chinese players and a goal for catching up in the future." ”
Yan Bingtao is still very young, and at present, his defensive quality and the position of the mother ball are still far from the world's top players, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. A good golfer must not only have the psychological quality and ability to turn the tide in the predicament, but also need excellent technology and concentration, as well as the experience of the competition. The more experience, the better the play can be played later.
Selby, the leader of the "post-80s" ball player, once said that Yan Bingtao is very similar to his young self. Zhang Dongtao also hopes that Yan Bingtao can become the most tenacious player like Selby. "Xiao Tao's advantage is that he has a strong learning ability, is very sure of his own state, and is good at using the correct techniques and tactics to match his own state and adjust the game strategy." His ability to control the game is definitely beyond that of players of his age. In the future, he still has to work hard to do a good job and strive for better results. ”
For the rising star, Ding Junhui is also very optimistic: "Yan Bingtao is only 20 years old, and the next 10 to 15 years are his golden period, and the champion of the Masters will help him improve his self-confidence and win more championships in the future." ”