Data map: China Shijiazhuang 2018 Chinese Eight-Ball International Open kicked off. Hendry, known as the "Billiard King", appeared in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, and he also interacted with the champion of the women's group in the 15th National Games of Hebei Province. Discuss and exchange. The picture shows the two "competitive" on the same field. Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhai Yujia

　　Chinanews client, Beijing, August 30th (Wang Hao) If you talk about the recent billiards game, many people may immediately think of the British Snooker World Championship that has just ended. Although Chinese players missed the quarterfinals, until the end of the game, names familiar to domestic audiences such as O'Sullivan were still active in the media.

　　In comparison, the recent Chinese-style billiard tournaments appear to be "low-key" a lot. Although Chinese billiards has a solid mass base that many people can't imagine, it has not received as much attention as snooker events in competitions. The reasons are intriguing.

A large population of Chinese billiards

　　In the 1980s, Chinese billiards became popular among the people. But at that time the name and rules of this sport were very vague. Names such as Black Eight, Sixteen Color, American Pocket, Chinese Eight Ball, etc. made the laymen feel confused.

Data map: Players in a Chinese eight-ball match. Photo by Wang Xi

　　In fact, in the world, billiards can generally be divided into snooker, Kailun and Poole. Poole pool has many branches around the world, such as American pool. American pool is divided into eight balls, nine balls, ten balls, etc., and British pool is similar to American pool.

　　Chinese billiards generally refers to a table between snooker and American, using American rules and playing methods at the same time. At present, the mainstream of Chinese billiards is eight balls.

　　In the early years, Wang Tao, secretary general of the Chinese Billiards Association, introduced in an interview that the Chinese billiards population is conservatively estimated at 60 million, and 40 million are playing Chinese billiards. What is the concept of such a scale?

　　In 2017, Liu Guoliang once introduced on Weibo that 83 million people in China participate in table tennis more than twice a week and more than one hour at a time. Although the population of Chinese billiards is not as large as that of table tennis, which is called "national ball", the overall mass base can also be described as "strong".

Screenshot of Weibo.

　　As the president of Qiao's billiards, Qiao Bing has been committed to the organization and promotion of Chinese billiards events for many years.

　　He introduced that the current domestic professional billiard players also have a certain scale: "It is conservatively estimated that there are more than 2,000 professional players who can make a living on Chinese billiards. There are hundreds of active players in the Masters. There are also some who are active all year round in the local area. It is estimated that more people are hitting."

　　" Hot and Cold " Chinese Billiards Tournament

　　Qiao Bing used the words "in full swing" to describe the current Chinese billiards events. He introduced that ten years ago, the largest billiards events in the country were American Nine Ball and Snooker, but now more than 90% of the events are Chinese. "Most of the players who play well in China are playing Chinese billiards, and some players in other sports are also switching to Chinese billiards."

　　In terms of game bonuses, some high-end Chinese billiards are also very rich. For example, in the Chinese Eight-Ball Masters, the total prize money of the season can reach RMB 20 million.

Wang Zhongyao is in the game. Screenshot of video data.

　　Wang Zhongyao is the international gold medal referee of ICEA Chinese billiards and is very famous in the industry. She has more than 6 million fans on the Douyin platform. In her 9 years of refereeing career, she has personally experienced the development of Chinese billiards. "It is more like a sports event than a folk game," she added. "In a sense, the development and popularity has surpassed the American nine-ball."

　　When Wang Zhongyao first started as a referee, there were not so many live broadcasts of the game and the players did not pay much attention to it. Now the contestants have more recognition of their athletes, and no longer regard the competition as a private event to "win some money."

　　However, in the rapidly developing Chinese billiards tournament, there is no star player like Ding Junhui to snooker. This is related to the fact that Chinese billiards rarely appear on national television broadcasting platforms.

　　Qiao Bing believes that the strong financial resources, influence, and influential communication platform behind the World Snooker Association are the reasons why Ding Junhui can appear.

Data map: The 2016 Second Chinese Billiards World Championships officially started in Yushan County, Jiangxi. The Chinese billiard leader Ding Junhui, who participated in the Chinese billiards game for the first time, lost to British player Michael Hill with a score of 3-9. Photo by Jiang Tao

　　This actually explains to a certain extent that the mass base of Chinese billiards is worse than that of snooker, but the competition is not as popular as snooker. At present, Chinese billiards have not yet fully met the conditions for a "Ding Junhui".

Overseas influence of Chinese billiards

　　Another reason why the Chinese billiards competition has not paid enough attention compared to snooker may be that the sport originated in China, and its current influence in the world cannot be compared with snooker.

　　However, as Chinese billiards events are held in more and more countries and regions, its overseas influence is gradually increasing. "Our sport has been promoted to more than 50 countries and regions around the world. Many billiard media in the world have prize lists every year. As long as the players who win our Masters Championship, they can be at the forefront of the rankings for at least half a year, because Our game was the biggest in the first half of the year." Qiao Bing introduced.

　　For example, in the South African race, "We sponsor one of their cars every month to play in the auto league. The locals in South Africa are very enthusiastic about participating."

Data map: The 2016 2nd Chinese Billiards World Championships officially started in Yushan County, Jiangxi. The famous player Robertson played. Photo by Jiang Tao

　　In the process of global promotion of Chinese billiards, a well-known name that fans have to mention is "Billiard King" Hendry. He is one of the greatest athletes in the history of snooker and has won 7 times. Knock World Championship champion. After announcing his retirement in 2012, Hengdeli became the honorary chairman of the Chinese Eight Ball International Federation in the same year.

　　Hengdeli once said in an interview: "This original Chinese billiard sport will carry Chinese culture and take root all over the world. Chinese billiards will become an important opportunity for the world's billiard industry to upgrade."

　　Chinese billiards go to the world, in addition to the development of competitions, there is also the output of billiards culture behind it. The expansion of overseas competitions can often bring the expansion of overseas markets, and billiards-related industries can also sniff out first-line business opportunities.

There is still room for improvement in career development

　　Zhang Kunpeng is a player of "Qiao's Billiards Dream Team" and previously won the runner-up in the global finals of the International Masters of Chinese Billiards. In order to play billiards, he gave up his studies and is currently a professional billiards player.

Data map: Jingdian·Qiao's Cup "2017 Chinese Eight-Ball International Masters Xining Finals, Zhang Kunpeng finally stood out among 247 players and won the crown. Photo courtesy of the Organizing Committee.

　　In the field of Chinese billiards, Zhang Kunpeng is already a very high-level player, and he was given the nickname "Hundred Steps Wearing Yang". However, there is still a certain distance from the popularity of those star players. He said that sometimes when he carries his equipment for playing, he is thought to be holding a musical instrument or violin.

　　Zhang Kunpeng said that he hopes Chinese billiards can have high-level competitions and bonuses in the future. "In this case, there will be more professionalism, and billiards can officially become a gentleman's sport in people's hearts."

　　The referee is also an indispensable force for the development of the industry, but at present, the income of billiard referees is not high. Wang Zhongyao introduced that few people take billiard referees as their profession.

　　She said that usually no matter how many games a day, referees earn 300 to 500 yuan a day. And calculating the annual income of referees cannot simply be multiplied by 365, because there are no events every day. In addition, novice referees earn less, "maybe one or two hundred a day."

　　Those who aspire to become billiards referees, “the few who remain, most have changed careers, and they still have to support their families.” Wang Zhongyao introduced.

Wang Xiaoli plays billiards. Screenshot of video data.

　　On August 20, Zhang Kunpeng defeated Zhao Ruliang 90:83 to win the championship and won the championship prize of 500,000 yuan.

　　The famous actor Wang Xiaoli, who played Liu Neng in the "Country Love Story" series, also came to the scene of the competition and explained the whole game. Regarding Zhang Kunpeng's victory, as a billiards enthusiast, he said: It works!

　　I hope that the future of Chinese billiards can also be like this. Both players and competitions can be understood, loved, and sincerely praised. (Finish)