China’s snooker players will be major threat to UK dominance, says world No 12 Zhang Anda
The game is trending on the mainland and will grow even more after Zhao Xintong’s win in the World Championship, he says
Zhang Anda expects China to threaten British dominance of snooker in the coming years, after compatriot Zhao Xintong became the first Asian to win the world title last month.
Speaking ahead of an exhibition event starting in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Zhang said the game was only trending upwards in mainland China.
When the 2025-26 season begins at the end of this month, there will be six Chinese players ranked inside the top 20, and 14 in the top 50 – second only to the 22 from the United Kingdom.
“I think we will be a threat,” the Guangdong native said. “If you look at the trend, we are gradually doing that – there will be more Chinese players.
“I am sure there will be more world-class tournaments in Hong Kong, Macau and even mainland China in the future.”
Zhang, 33, won the only ranking title of his career at the International Championship in Tianjin in November 2023, and the world No 12 said he hoped to add one more ranking title to his name in the new season.