Original title: Snooker World Championships: Lectra defending champion Selby China’s “only seedling” Yan Bingtao advances to the top 8
On the morning of the 24th, Beijing time, the “post-00” Chinese teenager Yan Bingtao completed his four-game winning streak once morest Selby, the four-time champion of the World Championships, and advanced to the top 8 of the 2022 World Snooker Championships with a big score of 13:10.
The 2022 World Snooker Championships will continue in the second round of Sheffield, England. This round adopts a 13-best-of-25-inning system and is divided into three stages. The battle between Yan Bingtao and defending champion Selby is one of the highlights of this round.
At the beginning of the game, Yan Bingtao took the lead, leading by a big score of 3:1 at the beginning, Selby followed closely, and the two sides drew 4:4 in the first stage. In the second stage, Selby made many mistakes, and Yan Bingtao led by a big score of 9:7 with one stroke and one 90+, and solid defense.
The two sides started the third stage of confrontation in the early morning of the 24th, Beijing time. Yan Bingtao chased following the victory and won two more games, leading by a big score of 11:7. However, the No. 1 seed and the four-time champion of the World Championships were not undeserved. In adversity, Selby was unyielding, chasing 3 games in a row, and only one game behind with 10:11.
The 22nd inning was crucial for both sides. For this reason, the two men, who were both cautious and stable and with similar styles of play, launched a defensive battle, and a record-breaking game came into being – this inning of more than 85 minutes created This is the longest single-game time in the 45-year history of the World Snooker Championships “settled” at the Crucible Theatre. In the end, Yan Bingtao won 63:49, got the match point with a big score of 12:10, and made his third break of the game in the 23rd round, winning the final victory.
Although this is Yan Bingtao’s fourth consecutive victory over Selby, it is the first time he has beaten his opponent in a long game. As the first “post-00” player to win the ranking championship, Yan Bingtao entered the top 8 of the World Championships for the first time.
“It’s an incredible victory, I can’t believe I’ve beaten defending champion Selby in a 13-best-of-25-inning match.” Yan Bingtao mightn’t hide his excitement following the game.
He said the game was very difficult. Especially in the longest game, he felt very tired. But Selby also made mistakes, missing the chance to make the game 11-11. “In the last inning, I told myself I just needed one more chance, so I focused on every shot.”
In the quarter-finals, Yan Bingtao will face the 47-year-old “Golden Left Hand” Mark Williams, the triple crown winner of the World Championships. Yan Bingtao said: “Williams looks very strong and confident at the moment, but so do I. I can give him trouble and pressure.”
4 people have advanced to the top 8 of this World Championship. In addition to Yan Bingtao and Williams, “Rocket” O’Sullivan will face Maguire in another quarter-final.
A total of 4 Chinese players are shortlisted for the snooker World Championships. Lu Haotian and Ding Junhui were eliminated in the first round, Zhao Xintong lost to Maguire in the second round and stopped in the top 16. Yan Bingtao became China’s “only seedling” 8 days following the World Championships main game.
