China has emerged as a leading player in snooker for the past decade. 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. 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. Many thousands gather to see tournaments. They are treated like celebrities and get champagne receptions. As the popularity of the sport grows, more and more young players are emerging. Among the younger players are Tian Pengfei and Zhang Jiankang.
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 suspended in December for match fixing. Yu is currently in a 10-year suspension. WPBSA also investigates match-fixing allegations in betting.
Although no players were banned, suspensions have cast a shadow on the sport. There are only 12 Chinese players in the top 64 of 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.
Yan Bingtao who is the 2021 Masters Champion is the largest name in the investigation. He was due to participate in the next World Snooker Tour event. However, he was disqualified after being drew against Mark Williams in the first round. While he was expected to become the first Chinese player ever to win a championship in the world, his comment regarding the ongoing investigation is limited.
Zhao Xintong is another Chinese player who has been suspended from the World Snooker Tour. He was ranked no.1 in the world earlier in the season. He is considered to be the best player in the sport. But now, he is being investigated as part of a global probe into match-fixing.
Other Chinese players that have been investigated include former world no. Liang Wenbo (suspended in October) was another Chinese player under investigation. Other Chinese players were also disciplined for cheating and abuse. These are a small number compared to the hundreds of millions of fans who have followed the sport in China.
However, the World Tour features a large number Chinese players. This shows that the game has gained widespread popularity in China. In fact, there are more tournaments being held in China.
But, China still has a long way to travel before they can match the success of the UK. More tournaments are being held, which means that more young Chinese players are finding their way into the professional snooker scene.
Zhao Xintong & Ding Junhui are currently the top-ranked Chinese players in the entire world. Ding has many ranking titles and has a huge following in China. Ding, even though he hasn't won a World Championship, stated that he would like the World Championship.