Will snooker really boom in China after Zhao Xintong’s landmark win?
Predictions of a snooker boom in China following Zhao Xintong’s landmark World Championship victory may be more bluster than substance, say global sports business experts.
Zhao’s stylish triumph at the Crucible on Monday made him the first Asian to win the title and raised expectations that the sport will rocket in popularity among China’s 1.6bn people.
But the state’s differing priorities and Zhao’s previous association with a match-fixing scandal make that far from certain, says Professor Simon Chadwick.
“If even just a small fraction of them become enthused by Zhao Xintong’s victory, then the numbers will lead people to conclude that China is fast becoming a snooker mad country,” Chadwick told City AM.
“However, the reality is somewhat different as a relatively small number of people in China are engaged with the sport – staging events in Europe at times when Chinese people are asleep in bed doesn’t help.
“China remains a basketball and mass participation sport nation – for instance, running and dancing – not a snooker one. There are some facilities that enable people to play snooker, but these are not easily found in many parts of the country.”
Beijing’s influence on which sports the Chinese population practise and consume is a world away from Western countries, and Zhao’s brush with scandal may make its rulers reticent to promote him and snooker.
“The state plays a major role in deciding which sports are promoted and which are not,” added Chadwick, Professor of Eurasian Sport Industry at Emlyon Business School in France.
“Though Zhao Xintong’s victory will confer significant prestige upon China, government will remain concerned about its development.
“Following his international ban for match fixing, officials in Beijing will want to ensure that the sport doesn’t become commonly associated with gambling or poor governance.
Zhao Xintong ‘can open floodgates’ in China
“At the same time, with the country’s 15th five-year communist plan about to be launched, the focus will be on promoting mass participation sports and event hosting.
“There may thus be an opportunity to host more snooker events in China, though it seems unlikely that the sport itself will become a national priority.
“One can’t deny Zhao Xintong’s talent or the nature of his victory, but for the time being at least the hype that will follow his win will be as much about bluster as it is about substance.”
Zhao, 28, is also the first amateur to win the World Snooker Championship, though only because he lost his professional status as a result of his ban for involvement in match-fixing.
His victory ensures he will regain his tour card and rejoin the pro ranks, where he is being tipped to become a dominant force by beaten finalist Mark Williams.
“He hasn’t played for two years, [but] bashed everybody up. There’s a new superstar of the game,” said Williams.
“It could be huge for the sport. It could open floodgates everywhere. With the Luke Littler thing in darts, this is what snooker needed, someone like him coming through.”
Promoter Barry Hearn, president of Matchroom Sport which runs the sport’s pro circuit, has tipped Zhao to be “the leader of the next batch of Chinese players”.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The message to the players from the rest of the world is ‘you’d better watch out’ because China is going to be even bigger than it was.”