Chain smoking under the fluorescent lights of a cavernous billiards hall in Beijing, Brother Yuan can’t stop smiling. The previous day, along with 150 million other people across China, he had been at home watching the snooker world championships final. Now he’s with his fellow cue-heads, celebrating the win of China’s first snooker world champion, Zhao Xintong. “He’s a great role model for young people in China,” Yuan, 55, says of the generation Z upstart who on Monday claimed snooker’s top prize. “He’s bringing the excitement back.” It’s a far…
Tag: Snooker
Snookered by China? Masters tournament owner plots Asia expansion
The owner of the Masters snooker tournament is plotting an expansion trail across Asia after the pandemic exposed the company’s reliance on China, its chair has said. Steve Dawson, who chairs World Snooker, said it was considering staging tournaments in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, after its business was held back by three years of Beijing-imposed Covid lockdowns. He also hopes young players in the sport can take inspiration from 16-year-old Luke Littler’s astonishing run to the PDC World Darts Championship final, which is also run by World Snooker’s owner…