Wu Yize’s triumph at the World Snooker Championship means Chinese players have now claimed back-to-back titles at the Crucible. But one of the country’s brightest young stars has been forced to watch from afar.
Wu followed in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong by being crowned world champion but their compatriot Yan Bingtao has had his own shot at glory derailed by a lengthy suspension.
Yan claimed the Masters crown in 2021 and reached four ranking finals, but has been banned from the sport until December 2027 after he and nine other players were punished following a match-fixing scandal.
Prior to his ban, Judd Trump had tipped the Zibo-born star as a future world champion, a prediction that now looks unlikely to materialise any time soon.
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“He is very mature for his age, and he doesn’t go for anything stupid,” Trump said ahead of a match against Yan, aged 20 at the time, in 2020. “He takes his time and he has certainly got a chance of being world champion in the future.”
View 3 ImagesYan’s suspension is due to end in December 2027(Image: Getty)
Trump also foresaw the surge of Chinese talent that has since taken the sport by storm. He added: “The future of the game is in really good hands with these Chinese players, and in the future there will certainly be a more even ratio of players from China and the UK.
Before receiving his ban, Yan enjoyed a career-best run to the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 2022, defeating top seed Mark Selby in the second round before being knocked out by Mark Williams.
The 26-year-old’s time away from the sport follows his involvement in a match-fixing scandal that resulted in players receiving sanctions of differing lengths. While others were handed shorter suspensions, including Zhao, who came back from his ban to claim the world title in 2025, Yan was dealt one of the more severe punishments.
Liang Wenbo and Li Hang both received lifetime bans while Yan was originally suspended for seven years and six months. His ban was cut to five years after early admissions and a guilty plea.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) confirmed the reduction in a 2023 statement, meaning he can return to competitive action in December 2027.
View 3 ImagesThe Chinese star made the final of the Players Championship in 2020(Image: Getty)
“This has been a very complex case,” WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said at the time. “It has been heart-breaking to see some young talented players fall foul of the WPBSA Conduct Regulations through pressure exerted by two senior players.
“This behaviour has been recognised as wholly unacceptable by the imposition of two lifetime bans from participating in recognised snooker in any way.
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“Those who try to corrupt sport are constantly trying to find new ways to avoid our monitoring processes and this outcome must be taken as a lesson to those who think they can avoid detection. If any player is involved in fixing a snooker match, they will be caught and will face severe penalties.”