Snooker originally started out as a game where its popularity primarily resided within the UK. Now, while this is still the case, the sport has globalised since the 1970/80s to which other parts of the world have captured the essence of the game and incorporated it within its own culture. No country has done this more so than China, but how did this come to be the case? How has snooker become such a dominant presence in China; and how has China become such a focal point within snooker?
In order to demonstrate the popularity of snooker in China, it would be useful to compare it to other sports within the country. Within the UK, major sports such as football, tennis and golf wouldn’t have to worry too much about competing with snooker for TV viewership. Compared to China, where their prevalent televised sports consist of football and basketball, must compete with the growing fandom that snooker generates.
One aspect of snooker that initially drove interest from Chinese viewers was the ‘parlour-trick’ style of display. In the early days of introducing snooker, it seemed baffling that players could pot balls in a continuous fashion, which is why audiences would clap for most routine shots. This would generate interest as viewers would grow accustomed to the nature of the game.
However, it wasn’t until James Wattana started to achieve considerable success where a little more attention was placed within the Asian market. Wattana encouraged the likes of Ding Junhui and Marco Fu to follow in his footsteps which in turn led to propelling of snooker in China. WPBSA was initially going to focus their attention on Thailand with the opening of a snooker academy in Bangkok, which apparently saw Ding graduate from this facility, although I couldn’t find further articles to verify this.
Nevertheless, the success of Ding is what really put snooker on the map in China. The government invested a lot into developing the future of the game in the country, even incorporating snooker into the school curriculum. One school even went so far as to form the World Snooker College in Beijing, which replaces textbooks and exams with snooker tables and casual clothing, in the hopes of harnessing the next big sensation.
The support available to aspiring snooker players within China has grown significantly to where there is a clear path to competing on a regional, national, and then hopefully professional level. The coaching facilities in place, such as the WPBSA-CBSA Academy is a prime example of this, which has seen players such as Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong make their mark at such young ages with a World Cup team victory in 2015.
The emergence of snooker clubs in China also encouraged the participation of viewers, who wanted to try and emulate the ‘parlour-tricks’ they witness on television (or in person), and also the younger generation who want to follow the path of Ding. Beijing and Shanghai alone house well over 1,000 snooker clubs each, with more continuously being added. Fun fact: the Li Jun Billiards Club, has a top level membership which costs around $125,000 per year – I bet your £7 an hour local club isn’t sounding too bad, right about now.
Dings prominence among the tour cultivated the growing relationships between the WPBSA and China, allowing for more opportunities and staging of some of snooker’s most lucrative events. Jason Ferguson credits Ding as being responsible for ‘opening up an enormous market for us’, which has led to a significant portion of the total prize fund being sourced from the region, thanks to events such as the China Championship and Shanghai Masters.
Even when Ding retires, he has helped in building a legacy for snooker within China. Many young players are starting to earn places on the professional circuit so that way interest in the sport won’t dwindle once he has left the scene. The difficulty for the Chinese players that follow will be trying to attain a measurable level of success comparable to what Ding achieved.
The population of China is so vast that you would think it’s just a numbers game hence, a matter of time. However, many thought that by this time Asian players would be dominating the tour but this couldn’t be further from the truth, given the percentage of events still won by UK-based players. So, while the long-term plans are in place, it may still take some time before we see Asian players making up a significant portion of the World Championship.
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