Wu Lichuan/Wen On May 4th local time, in the final of the 2026 World Snooker Championships, 22-year-old Chinese player Wu Yize defeated English player Sean Murphy 18-17, becoming the second Chinese player after Zhao Xintong to win the World Snooker Championship.

Previously, Murphy defeated two Chinese players including Fan Zhengyi and Xiao Guodong consecutively, and defeated defending champion Zhao Xintong in the quarterfinals, placing the burden of "blocking" Murphy on Wu Yize. Wu Yize's performance in fulfilling his mission fully demonstrates that both in terms of "bench thickness" and technical depth, China's strength has the ability to compete with international experts. As Ding Junhui said, from Zhao Xintong to Wu Yize, Chinese players have stood on the highest podium of the World Championships for two consecutive years. This is not just a breakthrough, but our era is coming.

In April this year, Zhao Xintong also said in an interview with Sports Weekly that this sport will definitely belong to China in the future. The basis is the number of professional athletes, and after several generations of efforts, the number of professional athletes in China has significantly increased. He predicted that in the next 10 to 20 years, perhaps more than half of the professional players will be Chinese.

Zhao Xintong's words are true. In the 2025 World Championships, a total of 10 Chinese players advanced to the main tournament, and 6 made it to the round of 16; In the 2026 World Championships, a total of 11 Chinese athletes advanced to the main round, and 4 made it to the round of 16. Not only that, Chinese players also represent a new force in snooker: among the nine post-00s picks for the 2026 World Championships, only Chinese players have won the ranking tournament championship. It can be said that Chinese post-2000s players represented by Wu Yize have redefined the "youthfulness" of the world snooker sport. Seven time world champion Hendry once said, "China will become the dominant force in this sport because all the top young athletes come from China

For Chinese players, in the "efforts of several generations", the names of Sun Linbo and Ding Junhui cannot be avoided. They are the two founders of Chinese snooker in essence.

In the first Golden Flower XO Queen Bee Tournament held in Guangzhou in 1985, Sun Linbo competed alongside the world's best snooker player at the time, Steve Davis. In the second tournament held in 1986, Sun Linbo played against world champion Griffith and won a set, which marked the beginning of China's first snooker craze.

In 2005, Ding Junhui won his first international competition championship belonging to the Chinese people at the China Open and the British Championship. That year was known as the "First Year of Chinese Snooker" and sparked the second wave of snooker craze in China. In the 2016 World Snooker Championships, Ding Junhui won the runner up, which was a milestone for Chinese players before Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize won the championship at the World Championships.

Ding Junhui has been active on the international stage since 2005. He is a lonely cultivator and a key guide. Zhao Xintong once received guidance from his fellow senior brother Ding Junhui, while Wu Yize studied at Ding Junhui Snooker Academy when he was young. The evolution of the origins of these three players reflects the process of pioneering and carrying forward the past in Chinese snooker. In this World Championships, although Ding Junhui was defeated by Zhao Xintong, the relay progress of China's new and middle-aged players is gratifying.

Judging that 'our era is coming', of course, there are more dimensions of data support, such as the significant growth of the billiards population. In 2011, the population of billiards in China had risen to 60 million; Today, 15 years later, this sport has over 80 million participants in China, with nearly 300000 various billiards clubs. Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize's ability to stand out from the street pool table is a reflection of this solid social foundation.

After astonishingly winning the championship, Wu Yize sincerely thanked his parents, believing that they were the "true champions". After discovering Wu Yize's extraordinary talent, his parents decisively closed the antique shop, sold his only home, and sent him into a professional training system. It is precisely this kind of wholehearted effort from the whole family that enabled the Lanzhou youth, who was once regarded as "not doing his job", to step by step ascend to the ranks of world champions. Of course, this desperate training model is difficult to replicate, but people have reason to believe that in the unprecedented development pattern of Chinese snooker, more "Zhao Xintong" and "Wu Yize" will emerge.

Some people assert that from Zhao Xintong to Wu Yize, the focus of snooker has completely shifted eastward. The basis for this judgment is that an increasing number of events are being held in China, from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, to lesser known small towns like Yushan, which have become the focus of attention for snooker enthusiasts worldwide. In addition, with the support of the huge Chinese market, snooker now has nearly 20 ranking tournaments, while 20 years ago, snooker ranking tournaments were once reduced to only 6 tournaments throughout the year. Even Jason Ferguson, the president of the World Billiards Association, admitted that "there is another characteristic of snooker's development in China. China is writing its own history, and it is no longer just a sport in the UK, but has truly gone global. Snooker legend Higgins straightforwardly commented, 'All snooker players also benefit from the enormous potential of the Chinese market.'.

In this regard, the fact that Chinese players have won the World Championships for two consecutive years is not an accident or a "miracle", but an inevitable result of the rapid development of Chinese snooker. I believe that in the future, more Chinese billiards boys will go global and reach their peak.

(The author is a senior media professional)