On April 24, Beijing time, China's "post-00s" rookie Yan Bingtao defeated defending champion Selby 13-10 in the second round of the main round of the 2022 World Snooker Championships to advance to the quarterfinals. Another Chinese player, Zhao Xintong, lost 9-13 to veteran Maguire in this round, stopping in the round of 16.
With their superb skills and the attitude of daring to challenge strong opponents, the two showed the strength and courage of Chinese snooker players to fans around the world.
Yan Bingtao picked up the "Great Mill King"
In the first round, Wecklin easily eliminated 10-6 from the qualifiers, and the 16th-ranked 22-year-old Chinese rookie Yan Bingtao in this round is the world's second-ranked defending champion Selby. Because the two have similar technical styles, and are both offensive and defensive players, full of toughness, not afraid of headwind, this game is also considered to be a contest between the new and old "big grinding kings" in the world stage.
The second round of the World Championships was played in a long-run format of 25 innings and 13 wins, and the competition was played in three stages. In the first stage, Yan Bingtao and Selby both adopted a relatively stable way of playing, defending the attack and grasping each other's mistakes. After 8 innings, the two were evenly divided. In the second stage, Yan Bingtao adopted a more aggressive style of play, going up and down three sets in a row, leading 7-4 on aggregate. This allowed Selby to fight some difficult far-range offense in the next few innings to ensure a chance to play. Yan Bingtao withstood the opponent's counterattack and led 9-7 on aggregate at the end of the second stage.
In the first five sets of the third stage, Yan Bingtao won two sets first, but the tenacious Selby returned the 3 sets, bringing the total score to 11-10. In the crucial 22nd set, the two went all out to "grind", and few people could score consecutive points. After Selby missed a powder ball that could be turned over, Yan Bingtao won the 87 minutes and 24 seconds tug-of-war 63-49 and took the lead in the match point. This time also broke the record of 79 minutes in a single set held by Luca and Gary Wilson at the 2019 World Championships, becoming the longest single set in the history of the Snooker World Championships.
It may be that the previous tug-of-war has consumed too much energy, and the 39-year-old Selby has been unable to stop the young Yan Bingtao in the 23rd set, who blasted a single shot of 112 points, and the total score was 13-10 to advance to the quarterfinals. It is worth noting that this victory allowed Yan Bingtao to win all 4 meetings against Selby this season, which can be called the "Grind king" nemesis. In the quarterfinals, Yan Bingtao's opponent will be the No. 8 seed of the tournament, "Golden Left Hand" Mark Williams.
After the match, Yan Bingtao was satisfied with his performance, "It was an incredible victory, I can't believe I beat defending champion Selby in a 25-inning, 13-win game. The race was very difficult, it was a long game and we both did a lot for each other. As the scores were glued, I didn't think too much about it, but focused on every shot. In the 22nd inning, Selby had a chance to equalise, but he missed a pink ball and I know he was a bit stressed and a little nervous. And I only need to take one more chance to win. ”
Losing to the "post-00s" rookie, Selby still showed his usual demeanor, saying: "Yan Bingtao is a great all-rounder, although I scored better than him in the game, but in several chaotic matches, he won all of them. He's very smart at playing, especially on the global side, and it's going to cause you a lot of trouble. I have a lot of respect for this opponent. ”
After defeating the defending champions, Yan Bingtao became the most optimistic favorite to win the championship. Looking ahead to the quarter-final with veteran Williams, Yan Bingtao said: "If I can continue this state of affairs in the last set, I have a chance to win. As for whether it can win the championship, maybe, who knows? ”
Zhao Xintong set a new record
In another battle that ended earlier, 25-year-old Chinese player Zhao Xintong failed to stage a good turnaround, and finally lost to 41-year-old veteran Maguire 9-13 on aggregate, regrettably bidding farewell to the World Championships. This is Zhao Xintong's second time in the main world championships, one more round than when he first participated three years ago, creating a new record for his career.
At the 2019 World Championships, Zhao Xintong encountered Selby in the first round, and was finally eliminated by his opponent 7-10. This year, Zhao Xintong, who has won two ranking championships, has significantly improved his skills and psychological stability compared with 3 years ago, and eliminated qualifier Clark with a big score of 10-2 in the first round, easily advancing to the round of 16.
However, in the second round, maguire, a veteran who had experienced in the competition and had just eliminated former world champion Sean Murphy, Zhao Xintong failed to play his own rhythm, and the technical advantage was also suppressed by the opponent. In the first stage, he was 3-5 behind, and in the second stage, he was beaten 6-2 by his opponents, and the overall score was 5-11 behind. This made the third stage of the game lose the suspense of victory and defeat in advance.
However, Zhao Xintong did not give up his efforts, and in the second stage, he gradually found his feel and tenaciously pulled back 4 innings. The helpless state came out too late, and finally regretted defeat. After the match, Zhao Xintong said, "This is my first time playing in the World Championships as a seeded player, and for me it is more about gaining experience." I am confident that I will go further on my next trip to the World Championships and hope to win the championship one day. ”