A historic first! Chinese players dominate the Grand Prix semifinals, securing both champion and runner-up spots, with the semifinal schedule attached.

On February 7th Beijing time, the quarterfinals of the Snooker Hong Kong Grand Prix wrapped up. In the two matches that ended yesterday, Zhao Xintong battled through 11 frames to clinch a 5-4 victory over Wakelin, denying a comeback, while Zhou Yuelong narrowly escaped with a 5-4 win against Carter. Consequently, the semifinal lineup is complete with Xiao Guodong, Zhang Anda, Zhao Xintong, and Zhou Yuelong — all Chinese players. This historic feat locks in the first and second places in advance, which is absolutely incredible!

Zhao Xintong faced Wakelin. The two have a strong rivalry, having met many times with wins on both sides. Zhao Xintong is the new World Championship titleholder, while Wakelin recently won the Scottish Open, so this match was far from easy for Zhao. From the start, the match was tightly contested with complex situations, each player taking one frame to tie 1-1. Then Zhao surged, combining offense and defense to win three consecutive frames, reaching a 4-1 match point. Wakelin refused to give up and launched a fierce comeback, with his accuracy suddenly peaking as he won three straight frames to level at 4-4. The deciding frame was full of twists: Zhao pulled ahead by over 19 points, but Wakelin fought back fiercely, snookering to gain 4 points. Still, it wasn’t enough, and Zhao sealed the frame 79-34, winning 5-4 to eliminate Wakelin and become the third semifinalist!

Zhou Yuelong played against Carter. Facing the two-time World Championship runner-up Carter, Zhou performed very well in a tight first half, opening with a 3-1 lead and completing a big comeback in the fourth frame. However, Carter quickly regained form, scoring three consecutive breaks of 88 to take a 4-3 lead and reach match point. Under pressure, Zhou showed tremendous resilience, raising his accuracy to deliver two consecutive 50+ breaks, winning the last two frames 5-4 to upset Carter and become the fourth semifinalist, helping China secure all four semifinal spots!

It must be said that Chinese snooker is truly rising. Sweeping the top four spots in a ranking event proves this, and in the future, snooker might become as popular as table tennis. The semifinals will feature an intriguing battle between Zhou Yuelong and Zhang Anda, both outside the top sixteen, and a fierce contest between Zhao Xintong and Xiao Guodong, both inside the top sixteen. Let’s look forward to the final lineup!

Written by / Sports Fiction