Young Chinese players are sweeping aside snooker’s aging British stars

The snooker world rankings look unlike they have before. Zhao Xintong, the 2025 world champion, sits at number one, while 2026 champion Wu Yize ranks third. Neil Robertson of Australia is second.

China has had a ranking leader before. Ding Junhui held the top position for several weeks in 2014. What is new is that the last two world championships have gone to Chinese players, as a growing wave of Chinese professionals reshapes the top of the sport.

About 30 Chinese players are on the professional tour, meaning nearly one in every four players with a tour card holds a Chinese passport. The leading Chinese players are also much younger than many of their British rivals and Robertson. Zhao is 29, Wu is 22, and Zhang Bingyu, who won the Wuhan Open on Aug. 29, is 24. The youngest non-Chinese player in the top 10 is 34-year-old Englishman Kyren Wilson. John Higgins and Mark Williams are both over 50. Ronnie O’Sullivan, the seven-time world champion and the sport’s most famous figure, is 50 and ranked 14th.

Britain has struggled to produce a new generation of leading players. Hopes rest particularly on 24-year-old Aaron Hill, ranked 38th, and 19-year-old Stan Moody, ranked 41st. Both have recorded individual successes, but neither has come close to winning a tournament.

The simplest explanation for China’s rise is the size of its player base. There is no precise figure, but cautious estimates put the number of Chinese snooker players at at least 50 million. Including players in other billiards disciplines, the total exceeds 200 million. China also has large halls with dozens of snooker tables and a growing network of academies and coaching centers.

A key hub is Dongguan in Guangdong province, near Hong Kong and Shenzhen. China Daily says more than 70 percent of Chinese professional players have trained there at some point. Among under-21 players seeking to reach the top, the share is as high as 90 percent. Young players can train for several hours a day under professional coaches, giving China’s huge talent pool a system designed to produce elite competitors.