Is this UK-dominated sport about to have a Chinese revolution?
Trailing 12-10 in the best-of-35 World Snooker Championship final, China’s Wu Yize walked out the back door of Sheffield’s Crucible Theater and collected himself in a quiet moment away from the bright lights and baize.
Hours later he was standing center stage as world champion.
The 22-year-old, who hails from Lanzhou in China’s north-west, completed one of the sport’s most intriguing ascents after moving to the UK as a teenager – at times sharing a bed with his father in a windowless room – and closed the gap by beating England’s Shaun Murphy in front of an estimated television audience of tens of millions of viewers in his homeland.
On Monday evening Wu cruised to victory, becoming the second-youngest winner of snooker’s most prestigious event – Stephen Hendry won at 21 in 1990 – and the latest symbol of a seismic shift in the sport’s power base.
His victory made Zhao Xintong a back-to-back Chinese world champion following his breakthrough 12 months earlier; This is a remarkable turnaround for a tournament that no Asian player won from its inception in 1927 until 2024.
For almost a century, the world championships were dominated by players from England and Ireland. Australian pair Horace Lindrum (1952) and Neil Robertson (2010) and Canada’s Cliff Thorburn (1980) were rare outliers.
However, the last two years have suggested a new order.
Zhao’s win was important, but Wu’s rags-to-riches move after a last-frame thriller marks a pivotal moment for a thriving sport in China.
“All of a sudden the floodgates opened,” said six-time world champion Steve Davis. “The style they play is a reference point for future European and British players.”
The extent of snooker’s growth in China is staggering. It is estimated that there are 300,000 billiards and pool halls across the country; this number increased to approximately 34,000 in 2005. Many cater to billiards and other cue sports, but billiards has become mainstream as Chinese state television has increased its coverage.
More than 150 million viewers reportedly watched Zhao’s win last year.
“This is unthinkable in Britain,” said four-time world champion Scotsman John Higgins.
Much of the rise can be traced to former world No. 1 Ding Junhui, who inspired a generation after his emergence in the mid-2000s. Ding’s defeat to Mark Selby in the 2016 world championship final cemented his status as a national icon and accelerated the sport’s expansion.
At the beginning of 2016, no Chinese player was among the world’s best 16. World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has predicted that one day half of the elite will come from China.
Ten years later, this prediction is approaching reality, with five Chinese players entering the top 16.
Ding’s legacy is tangible in Sheffield, where the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy is five minutes from the Crucible, with rows of tables and a pipeline of young Chinese talent chasing the same dream.
When we returned home, cue sports diversified. Chinese 8-ball or “heyball” grew in popularity and drew players away from billiards. However, successive world championships show that the balance may now be reversed.
Jason Ferguson, president of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), told the BBC: “When we first went to China there were no pool tables and no clubs, then Ding’s victory came and 10 years later it became a national sport.”
“There are currently 300,000 billiard clubs in China. It’s a huge number. Everyone watches the matches on their mobile phones, on television, and the clubs are full. For someone like me, who has been working there for 20 years, this is a dream come true.”
Wu’s victory also brought moments of levity amid the pressure. At one point, he thought some of the Crucible crowd were booing him, but discovered they were repeating the sustained chant familiar to fans of England cricketer Joe Root.
Not “Boooo” but “Wuuuuu”.
“The staff told me they were cheering,” Wu said later.
For Robertson, who lost 13-10 to Higgins in the quarter-finals, it was another reminder of how the landscape has changed since his breakthrough in 2010, when he hoped he would not be the last Australian to lift the trophy.
After many attempts he is closing in on another world crown but says his cue ball control is not where it should be.
Wu, who stood by his parents after his victory, left China with his father at the age of 16, moved to Sheffield and turned professional within a year. It now stands as the final standard bearer for a generation.
“My mom and dad are true champions,” Wu said. “They are the source of my strengths. I love them very much. I am very happy.”
“I played for myself, my family and China. I think other Chinese players can also win this championship. The best is yet to come.”
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Tom Decent is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
