Yan Bingtao
Yan Bingtao (Chinese: 颜丙涛; born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese former professional snooker player who is currently serving a five-year ban from professional competition after committing a range of match-fixing offences. He rose to prominence by winning the ISBF World Snooker Championship, the sport's world amateur title, in 2014 at age 14, which made him the tournament's youngest ever winner. He turned professional in 2016.
Yan at the 2022 European Masters | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 16 February 2000 Zibo, Shandong, China | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport country | China | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | the Tiger | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional | 2016–2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 10 (March 2021) | |||||||||||||||||
| Century breaks | 153 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Yan Bingtao | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 顏丙濤 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 颜丙涛 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Aged 17 years and 284 days, Yan became the youngest player ever to contest a ranking final when he faced Mark Williams at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open, but lost in a deciding frame. Yan claimed his first ranking title at the 2019 Riga Masters, becoming the third Chinese player, after Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo, to win a ranking event. He made his Masters debut at the 2021 event, where he defeated John Higgins 10–8 in the final to win his first Triple Crown title. Aged 20, Yan became the youngest Masters winner since then-19-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan won it in 1995.
In December 2022, the WPBSA suspended Yan from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, he was banned from competing professionally until 11 December 2027.