China has emerged as a leading player in snooker for the past decade. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association is trying to support 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. As the sport grows in popularity, it is likely that there will be more Chinese snooker players.
Chinese snooker champions are revered in China. Thousands of fans gather to watch tournaments. They are treated as A-list celebrities, enjoy red carpet entries and receive champagne receptions. There are more young players becoming involved in the sport, as the popularity grows. Tian pengfei as well as Zhang Jiankang are some of the younger players.
Despite China having become the leading force in snooker over recent years, another scandal has rocked this sport. Yu Delu, an ex-professional player, was suspended 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. There are 12 Chinese players among the 64 top-ranked athletes in the world. After Zhao Xintong's suspension and Li Hang's addition, the number of Chinese players in the top 64 has fallen to 11. Moreover, the CBSA is investigating allegations that Liang Wenbo, Lu Ning and Chang Bingyu were involved in match-fixing.
Yan Bingtao (2021 Masters) is the biggest name in this investigation. He was to take part in a World Snooker Tour tournament next month. He was eliminated after he drew with Mark Williams in the first round. While he was considered to be the first Chinese player at a world championship, he has not commented on the ongoing investigation.
Zhao Xintong is another Chinese player who has been suspended from the World Snooker Tour. He was ranked world's No. 1 player earlier this year. He is considered one of the top players in the game. In a global investigation into match-fixing, he now faces criminal charges.
Another Chinese player that has been investigated is the former world no. Liang Wenbo was removed in October. Other Chinese players were also disciplined for 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. There are even more tournaments in China.
To be able to compete with the UK, however, China has much to learn. Younger Chinese players are making their mark on the professional snooker circuit by participating in more tournaments.
At present, the two highest-ranking Chinese players in the world are Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui. Ding has won many ranking titles and is a popular player in China. Despite not having won a world championship, Ding has stated that he would like to win the World Championship.