English Open 2021: China’s Yan Bingtao loses to John Higgins in quarter-finals
- Veteran Scot also beat Chinese youngster in semi-finals of Northern Ireland Open three weeks ago
- Yan set to overtake former world No 1 Ding Junhui as China’s top ranked player
Chinese snooker star Yan Bingtao found his progress at the English Open stopped in the quarter-finals by veteran Scot John Higgins on Friday.
The UK Masters champion found himself 4-0 down to four-time world champion Higgins but fought back to 4-3 before Higgins stopped the comeback in its tracks.
Yan beat Higgins in the Masters final in January – his first major title – but the Scot has got the better of their recent matches.
Higgins, 46, beat the 21-year-old for the second time in three weeks, with the first coming in the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open where the “Wizard of Wishaw” triumphed 6-2 after Yan was 2-0 up.
Yan was the last Chinese player standing once more as he reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in Milton Keynes, though the English Open marked the return of Chinese No 1 Ding Junhui to the tour.
World No 13 Yan is set to overtake world No 10 Ding as the highest ranked Chinese player in the standings unless the 34-year-old former world No 1 wins next month’s UK Championship.