Masterful Yan in frame for greatness By SHI FUTIAN | China Daily | Updated: 2021-01-19 09:22 Share CLOSE
Prodigious Chinese potter tipped for more major titles after historic victory at sport s second-biggest tournament China s Yan Bingtao kisses the Paul Hunter Trophy after beating John Higgins 10-8 in the final of the Masters－widely considered snooker s second-biggest tournament－in Milton Keynes, England on Sunday night. The victory saw the 20-year-old become only the second Asian player to win a Triple Crown event. XINHUA
A new snooker star is born, and now fans and pundits alike reckon the sky s the limit for newly crowned Masters champion Yan Bingtao.
China’s snooker dominance starting to take shape after Yan Bingtao’s Masters win
PA
18 January 2021, 4:36 pm
Yan Bingtao’s stunning victory over John Higgins to claim the Masters title in Milton Keynes on Sunday night could prove to be a seminal moment in snooker’s long-predicted power-shift towards the east.
No fewer than 19 Chinese players currently inhabit the world’s top 100, and here, the PA news agency picks out the five most likely candidates to follow in Yan’s wake.
Zhou Yuelong
Zhou Yuelong
No less than John Higgins hailed the 22-year-old Zhou after being knocked out of last year’s UK Championship. “He’s got a great temperament and all-round game, and he’ll be here for years to come,” said Higgins. Currently ranked 21, Zhou has already reached two ranking finals.
LONDON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) Chinese debutant Yan Bingtao defeated veteran John Higgins to clinch the Snooker Masters title on Sunday, becoming the youngest Mast
SCOTTISH snooker great Stephen Hendry has nothing to prove in the sport, but at 51 he’s ready to test himself at the top once again. The record seven-time world champion dominated the green baize game for more than a decade and won a staggering 36 ranking titles during his illustrious 27-year career. But in August last year the Scot shocked the snooker world when he announced his comeback after an eight-year hiatus. And now, having been practising hard to rediscover some of the old magic, the ambitious Perthshire potter is relishing the chance to play his first professional match since retiring in May 2012.
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Bingtao went on to win 10-8 to be crowned the youngest Masters champion since Ronnie O Sullivan in 1995 who also beat Higgins by the same score.
Fans expressed their distaste at Hendry s comments who made them while commentating alongside John Virgo.
David Howell, 35, of Darlington, said: It was a hell of a final, a proper slug fest between the old pro Higgins and the youngster Bingtao.
During the 15th frame of Sunday night s thrilling final, 20-year-old Bingtao missed a relatively easy pot, leaving Hendry bemused Bingtao seemed to have the edge but made daft mistakes. When he missed the pot in the 15th frame it looked bad for him but I was really taken aback by what Hendry said.