In the past decade China has been a rising powerhouse in the world of snooker. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) has worked to promote snooker in China. There are over 50 million snooker players in China, making it the largest snooker playing country in the world. However, there has not been a Chinese world championship winner. As the sport grows more popular, it is predicted that Chinese snooker athletes will increase in number.
Chinese snooker players are considered icons in their country. There are thousands of people who gather to watch the tournaments. They are treated as A-list celebrities, enjoy red carpet entries and receive champagne receptions. More and more young athletes are joining the sport as it grows in popularity. Tian Pengfei, Zhang Jiankang and Zhang Jiankang are two of the most popular younger players.
The sport was once again under fire despite China becoming the most dominant player in snooker over the past decade. Yu Delu, a former professional player, was banned on 1/12 for match-fixing. Yu is currently in a 10-year suspension. WPBSA are also investigating match-fixing allegations made for betting purposes.
The suspensions have cast doubt over the sport, even though no player has been banned. Only 12 Chinese athletes are in the top 64. The suspension list added Zhao Xintong to the list and Li Hang to it has reduced that number to 11. The CBSA is also investigating allegations that Liang Wenbo Lu Ning and Chang Bingyu participated in match-fixing.
Yan Bingtao who is the 2021 Masters Champion is the largest name in the investigation. He was to take part in a World Snooker Tour tournament next month. After drawing against Mark Williams in round one, he was disqualified. He was widely expected to be the first Chinese player in a world championship. However, his comments on the ongoing investigation have been limited.
Zhao Xintong (a Chinese player) has been expelled from the World Snooker Tour. He was ranked the no.1 player in the world earlier this season. He is considered one of the top players in the game. However, he is currently being investigated as part the global probe into match-fixing.
Other Chinese players that have been investigated include former world no. 11 Liang Wenbo, who was suspended in October. Several other Chinese players have been reprimanded for alleged cheating or abuse. This is only a fraction of the hundreds and millions of Chinese fans who have been following the sport.
However, the World Tour has a lot of Chinese players which shows the popularity of the game in China. The country is hosting more tournaments.
But, China still has a long way to travel before they can match the success of the UK. Younger Chinese players are making their mark on the professional snooker circuit by participating in more tournaments.
Zhao Xintong (currently) and Ding Junhui (currently), are the top-ranking Chinese players worldwide. Ding is an extremely popular Chinese player who has won numerous ranking titles. Despite not having won a world championship, Ding has stated that he would like to win the World Championship.