China News Service, Beijing, February 28th. In the final of the 2022 Snooker European Masters, which ended in the early morning of the 28th, Beijing time, the Chinese "post-00" teenager Fan Zhengyi, who reached the final of the ranking competition for the first time in his career, defeated Lectra 10:9. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the championship.
Previously, Fan Zhengyi's best ranking result was in the quarter-finals.
He defeated Karen Wilson, Yan Bingtao, David Gilbert and Graeme Dott in the European Masters to advance to the final.
In the final, Fan Zhengyi and O'Sullivan tied at 9:9 in the first 18 innings.
With a single shot of 92 points in the tiebreaker, Fan Zhengyi defeated the "Rocket", and while winning the 80,000-pound championship bonus, the world ranking rose from 80th to 31st.
According to the official news of the World Snooker Tournament, Fan Zhengyi from Harbin is currently training and living in Sheffield. He is training partners with Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao.
He also became the fourth player to win the ranking title for the first time this season after David Gilbert, Zhao Xintong and Hussein Wafi.
"Before the final, I didn't think much about it. Winning one more set is one set. Don't lose too much. In the end, he (O'Sullivan) didn't play very well today. This is the first time I have entered the ranking match. In the final, I played against an idol for the first time. I am very happy to play against him in the final." Fan Zheng said after the match.
This was O'Sullivan's 60th ranking final, and the loss kept his number of ranking titles at 38.
O'Sullivan said, "Fan Zhengyi played some wonderful safety balls and offense tonight. He was a better player all day and deserved to win."
"I think Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong, they inspire each other, plus him (Fan Zhengyi), and a few others are eager to try. They inspire each other like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. It's a good thing. It's a pleasure to compete with a future world champion." (End)