Perhaps of all the noise emanating from Wu Yize’s historic victory in the World Snooker Championship final on Monday evening, it was 12 simple words from the godfather of Chinese snooker that meant the most.
For the second successive year, China has a world champion in the sport the nation has taken to its heart, with Wu emulating Zhao Xintong’s win 12 months earlier by defeating Shaun Murphy in one of the great finals. But perhaps none of it would be possible without Ding Junhui laying the groundwork over the last 20 years.
