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. China is home to more than 50 million snooker enthusiasts, making it the most populous snooker country. However, the Chinese have not yet had a world championship winner. As the sport becomes more popular, it is expected that Chinese snooker will grow in popularity.
Chinese snooker players are considered icons in their country. There are thousands of people who gather to watch the tournaments. They are treated as celebrities and have red carpet entries. Champagne receptions are also arranged. Younger players are becoming more popular as the sport gains popularity. Tian Pengfei, Zhang Jiankang and Zhang Jiankang are two of the most popular younger players.
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 banned on 1/12 for match-fixing. Yu is currently suspended for a period of 10 years. WPBSA are also investigating match-fixing allegations made for betting purposes.
Although there have not been any bans on specific players, they cast a shadow over this sport. There are only 12 Chinese players amongst the 64 best in the world. That number has been reduced to 11 after Zhao Xintong and Li Hang were added to the suspension list. The CBSA is also investigating allegations that Liang Wenbo Lu Ning and Chang Bingyu participated in match-fixing.
Yan Bingtao who is the 2021 Masters Champion is the largest name in the investigation. He was scheduled to play in a World Snooker Tour event next month. After being drawn against Mark Williams in Round 1, he was disqualified. While he was considered to be the first Chinese player at a world championship, he has not commented on the ongoing investigation.
Zhao Xintong (a Chinese player) has been expelled from the World Snooker Tour. He was ranked world's No. 1 player earlier this year. 1 player, and is regarded as one of the best in the sport. He is now being investigated as part a global probe into match fixing.
Other Chinese players that have been investigated include former world no. 11 Liang Wenbo, who was suspended in October. Numerous other Chinese athletes were also punished for alleged cheating. These are a small number compared to the hundreds of millions of fans who have followed the sport in China.
However, the World Tour attracts a lot of Chinese players. There are even more tournaments in China.
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.
At present, the two highest-ranking Chinese players in the world are Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui. Ding has many ranking titles and has a huge following in China. Ding stated that even though he has not won a World Championship, he would love to.