China has become a global leader in snooker in the last decade. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association has been trying to help the sport in China. China is home of more than 50,000,000 snooker players, making it the biggest snooker-playing country in the globe. However, the Chinese have not yet had a world championship winner. It is expected that the number of Chinese snooker players will increase rapidly as the sport becomes more popular.
Chinese snooker champions are revered in China. 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. The sport is becoming more popular and more players are coming up. Among the younger players are Tian Pengfei and Zhang Jiankang.
Despite China having become the leading force in snooker over recent years, another scandal has rocked this sport. Yu Delu (former professional player) was expelled on 1 December after being charged with match-fixing. Yu is currently under a 10-year ban. WPBSA are also investigating match-fixing allegations made for betting purposes.
While no specific players have been banned, the suspensions cast a shadow over the sport. There are only 12 Chinese players amongst the 64 best in the world. This number has been reduced from 12 to 11, after Zhao Xintong was added to the suspension. The CBSA is also investigating claims that Chang Bingyu, Lu Ning, and Liang Wenbo were involved in match-fixing.
However, the biggest name in the investigation so far is Yan Bingtao, who is the 2021 Masters champion. He was set to compete in a World Snooker Tour competition next month. However, he was disqualified after being drew against Mark Williams in the first round. Although he was tipped to be the first Chinese player to win a world championship, his comment on the ongoing investigation has been limited.
Another Chinese player, Zhao Xintong, is suspended 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.
Former world number one Chinese player has been under investigation. Liang Wenbo, who had been suspended in October, was also under investigation. Many other Chinese players have been disciplined for alleged abuse or cheating. These are just a handful of players in China, compared with the many millions of fans who follow the sport.
However, the World Tour has a lot of Chinese players which shows the popularity of the game in China. Indeed, more tournaments are being held in the country.
The country still has a lot of work to do before it can be as successful as the UK. Younger Chinese players are making their mark on the professional snooker circuit by participating in more tournaments.
Zhao Xintong & Ding Junhui are currently the top-ranked Chinese players in the entire world. Ding has been awarded many ranking titles, and he is well-known in China. Ding said that he wants to win the World Championship even though he had not won one.