Yan's steely rise forged by sacrifice and setbacks

As Yan Bingtao became snooker's youngest Masters champion since Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1995, British commentators declared: "A star is born!"

Having trailed 3-5 and 5-7 in the final, the 20-year-old Chinese showed nerves of steel to battle back and beat Scottish great John Higgins in the Jan 18 final to win the prestigious event, widely considered the sport's second-biggest tournament behind the world championship.

Yan also accounted for Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and 2020 champ Stuart Bingham en route to becoming the first debutant to win the tournament since Mark Selby in 2008, and the second Asian winner of the event after compatriot Ding Junhui lifted the title in 2011.

"He was fantastic, his game is incredible and versatile. Winning the Masters at this age is a brilliant achievement," 45-year-old Higgins, a Masters champ in 1999 and 2006, said of his young conqueror.

Six-time world champion Steve Davis concurred: "I was impressed with his temperament, his nerve and that was as mature a performance we've seen from a young player since we saw Higgins win here."

Prodigious potter

Born on Feb 16, 2000 in Zibo, Shandong province, Yan showed an interest in roadside billiards when he was just 7, and soon graduated to snooker.

"When I was eight and a half years old, I took part in the adult eight-ball competition in Shandong and finished fifth. Ever since then, I wanted to be a professional player," Yan said.

Yan's father quit his job at a pharmaceutical factory in 2009 to take his son to Beijing for professional training. "To save money, my father and I rented a room in the suburbs with only a table and a bed. The rent was 280 yuan (about $40) a month," Yan said.

The youngster had no complaints about his new life in Beijing－just as long as he was making progress he was happy.

Yan's mother, who was then the family's only breadwinner, was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2013.But Yan did not give up hope and, with the help of a local billiards club, continued to chase his dreams.

In 2014, Yan was offered a place in the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's (WPBSA) academy in the capital. As one of the center's first players, the WPBSA waived the teenager's fees.

The top-class facilities, professional coaches and well-matched practice partners fast-tracked Yan's development, and it soon became apparent the academy had unearthed a real gem.

Amateur reign

Yan beat Muhammad Sajjad of Pakistan 8-7 in the final of the Amateur World Snooker Championship in India in November 2014 to become the event's youngest champion at just 14 years old.

When Yan returned home with the trophy, his coach, Zhang Dongtao, cried. "Bingtao has fulfilled one of my dreams," Zhang remarked at the time.

More importantly for Yan, the victory allowed him to turn pro, earning him a two-year stay on the circuit.

For those that witnessed his composure at the Masters, it is hard to imagine that Yan initially struggled to contain his emotions during frames. "I used to play impatiently. Whenever I made a small mistake, I would not be able to bear it and I couldn't even control my expression, which often affected the rest of the game."

Now Yan has perfected a "poker face", rarely showing any expression at the table. "I can't let my opponents see that I'm flustered," he said.

Sheffield calling

In 2016, Yan relocated to Britain, the home of snooker, to begin his professional career.

He fine-tuned his game at Victoria's Snooker Academy in Sheffield, just a few hundred meters from the Crucible Theatre, where the world championship is staged. He trained seven hours a day, and learned English as well. "If you don't try, you'll never know what you can do," he said.

In his first pro season, Yan qualified for 13 ranking tournaments, including the world championship, reaching the last 16 in five of them. Notably, he made the quarterfinals at the German Masters, to become the youngest player to reach the last eight of a ranking event. On his 17th birthday, he defeated then world No 1 Mark Selby 4-1 in the third round of the Wales Open.

Yan enjoyed another encouraging campaign in the 2017-18 season, notching notable victories over legends like O'Sullivan and Higgins along the way to finishing the season at No 23 in the world rankings.

Finishing touches

After being knocked out of the 2018 Northern Ireland Open in the first round, Yan faced a barrage of criticism from fans, and decided it was time to change his game.

However, playing more aggressively and faster around the table only delivered more losses and disagreements with his coach, so he eventually reverted back to his old playing style.

That paid dividends in the 2019-20 season when the then 17-year-old defeated Mark Joyce in the Riga Masters final in Latvia to become the youngest winner of a ranking event since Ding Junhui in 2006.

Having again proved his big-match temperament to collect the Masters trophy, there's now good reason to believe Yan could become China's first ever world snooker champion at the Crucible in April.

"He was always chasing John Higgins but he always came back. He's the most hard-working player at my academy," said his agent Victoria Shi, who runs the Sheffield academy.

"He showed how strong his mindset is, how much he wants to win, that's the difference. I have never seen a kid like him."

Xinhua