China has become a global leader in snooker in the last decade. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association tries to help China's snooker. China is home of more than 50,000,000 snooker players, making it the biggest snooker-playing country in the globe. But the Chinese haven't yet seen a winner of the world championship. As the sport grows in popularity, it is likely that there will be more Chinese snooker players.
Chinese snooker stars are revered as icons in China. Many thousands gather to see tournaments. They are treated like celebrities and get 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 the fact that China has become the dominant force in snooker in the past decade, the sport has been hit by another scandal. Yu Delu, a former professional player was suspended in December for match fixing. Yu is currently under a 10-year ban. WPBSA is also investigating allegations of match-fixing for betting purposes.
While there are no bans for specific players, these suspensions cast a shadow upon 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.
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. His prediction of being the first Chinese player to win the world championship was high, but his comments regarding the ongoing investigation are limited.
Zhao Xintong from China has been removed from the World Snooker Tour. He was the world's number one player earlier this season. He is widely regarded as one the most talented players in the sport. However, he is currently being investigated as part the global probe into match-fixing.
Ex-world no. 1 Chinese players have also been investigated. Liang Wenbo was suspended in October. A number of other Chinese players were reprimanded after being accused of cheating and abuse. These are only a few of the hundreds of millions who have been following the sport in China.
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.
To be able to compete with the UK, however, China has much to learn. As more tournaments are held, more Chinese players are making their way into professional snooker.
Zhao Xintong & Ding Junhui are currently the top-ranked Chinese players in the entire world. Ding has won numerous ranking titles, and he has an enormous following in China. Ding expressed his desire to win the World Championship, even though he did not win a championship.