YAN BINGTAO: PROFILE

Today I'm launching a new feature here at the blog to come with the analysis, interviews and other stuff that we already have.

This will resume in two things: looking at the player's career milestones and reflecting on their achievements and what is to come.

It's also a good chance for you to get to know players better, although eventually I might be doing this with some of the greats instead of up and coming players. Our first player is Yan Bingtao:

MILESTONES:

February 16th, 2000 - Born in China.

September 2013 - Gets to the last 16 of the Asian Tour "2", at 13.

2014 - At 14, becomes the youngest ever World Amateur Champion.

2015 - At 15, wins the World Cup of Snooker with 17 years-old partner Zhou Yuelong as part of China's B team.

2016 - Becomes a pro, first player born in the 2000's to do so.

2017 - Debuts at the Crucible, and is named rookie of the season.

2017 - Loses the Northern Ireland final 9-8 to Mark Williams. At 17, he would've become the youngest ever ranking event winner. A record that had not been threatened for a long, long time.

2019 - Wins the Riga Masters. Youngest ranking event winner since Ding Junhui in 2005.

2020 - Runner-up in the Players Championship, breaking through to the top 16.

2020 - Wins first Crucible match.

2021 - Wins the Masters on his debut. First debutant winner since Selby (2008) and youngest winner since O'Sullivan (1995).

2021 - The semifinals of the Northern Ireland Open was his 8th appearance in such stage of a ranking event (therefore this does not include the 2015 World Cup and the 2021 Masters).

 WHAT IS TO COME:

Well, these are quite a lot of milestones for a player who is 21. These days it's ever so rare to see players this young doing so well that he has quickly become a player with a lot of expectations on his shoulders.

Yan's not only in my view an established top 10 player at the moment, but he has also become China's main flag bearer in snooker. Ding Junhui was that man since 2005, and became a national hero in his home country. He had some downs during these periods, but never before a Chinese talent had stepped up and filled his shoes, but Yan's meteoric rise has made him China's best hope for trophies and Ding now has some catching up to do - but that's if he even wants that at the moment.

Back to Bingtao, when you think that snooker players are finding their peak at their 30's and you have three players aged 46 in the top 10, it's scary to think about how many Triple Crown titles he'll manage before he's done. He's g.o.a.t. material in my book, his ability to thrive in pressure situations is something that 95% of his fellow top players would love to have, and yet everything he does in the next 9 seasons can be seen as experience gathering.

Most players after breaking through have some spells where they struggle to keep up, and then get back on track. World number one Trump lived that himself, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bingtao got through that too. These next few years can come with distractions as he'll be getting fame, money and adapted to the country he's now living (England).

However, if you never knew his age you'd look at him on the table and feel like he's one of the most experienced players out there. Winning on his 20's will be key for him if ever he gets to chase Ronnie's records, given that Ronnie started winning tournaments as young as Bingtao and just never stopped.

To me, Selby is the guy right now that wins tournaments at a pace that will make him threaten the big records established by Ronnie and Hendry one day, but after him I have Bingtao as the next thing. 

Many would rightly say Trump maybe, but at 32 and playing arguably the best snooker on tour right now, he should be winning Triple Crown tournaments at a better rate. Do you agree?

Follow Down the Rail on Instagram and like our page on Facebook for all things snooker!