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World Championship 2022: China’s wait goes on after Yan Bingtao’s narrow loss
- ‘I was so close to my first Crucible one-table match,’ he says, having led Mark Williams before slipping to 13-11 defeat
- ‘Class of ’92’ in fine fettle as Williams is joined in semi-finals by John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan, along with Judd Trump
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![Yan Bingtao of China came up just short at the World Championship as he lost 13-11 to Mark Williams. Photo: VCG via Getty Images](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2022/04/28/55139da2-1785-4221-837e-b9d227e3afc0_53267617.jpg?itok=fKsJW8Fp&v=1651131407)
China’s wait for its first winner of snooker’s World Championship continues after Yan Bingtao was edged out by Mark Williams in a tense quarter-final.
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It was the closest a Chinese player had come to landing the sport’s greatest prize since Ding Junhui reached the semi-finals in 2017, and Yan’s performance in losing 13-11 hinted he may one day go a step or two further.
Adrift at 6-2 down after the first session, the 22-year-old responded by dominating the second by the same margin. He then led 10-8 and 11-10 to be in sight of the coveted one-table stage, when the Crucible arena transforms, doubling the audience and ratcheting up the drama.
Instead it was Williams, 47, who got there – the oldest player to do so since 52-year-old Ray Reardon lost to Steve Davis in 1985.
![Mark Williams had got the better of Yan Bingtao at this year’s Cazoo Masters, and he did so again in Sheffield. Photo: World Snooker Tour Mark Williams had got the better of Yan Bingtao at this year’s Cazoo Masters, and he did so again in Sheffield. Photo: World Snooker Tour](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/04/28/f6be0c59-916f-4686-8918-68e913c47622_07d3c8e3.jpg)
“I was nervous, because I was so close to my first Crucible one-table match,” Yan told the World Snooker Tour website. “At 11-10 I had a chance to make it 12-10, but I was thinking too much and lost the cue ball.
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