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Such an intelligent shot

Postby Pink Ball

Go to 23:00. Note the score and the situation of the table. Yan Bingtao's shot on the blue here, nestling the cue ball on the brown for good measure, won't win shot of the tournament, but you'll be hard pressed to see a more intelligent shot this tournament.

20 years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsd8v_zJ8mI

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby Prop

“The young Chinese players are all good potters but that’s all”

I’m paraphrasing there, but we’ve all heard similar lines from the usual pundits. And, largely, it’s true. But Yan does seem to have something very different. Does he stay up late, watching old Ray Reardon and Steve Davis videos? Because that’s what he’s got. And it’s a whole different skill to have at 20, regardless of the grass roots you develop in.

That perpetual prophecy of yours will come right soon enough.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby Iranu

Prop wrote:“The young Chinese players are all good potters but that’s all”

I’m paraphrasing there, but we’ve all heard similar lines from the usual pundits. And, largely, it’s true. But Yan does seem to have something very different. Does he stay up late, watching old Ray Reardon and Steve Davis videos? Because that’s what he’s got. And it’s a whole different skill to have at 20, regardless of the grass roots you develop in.

That perpetual prophecy of yours will come right soon enough.

I think it’s just natural ability. People have said the same of Higgins, that he had a mature safety game even as a teenager.

Some people think talent translates only to potting and breakbuilding (and by the way Yan is a talented potter too although he didn’t show much of that today) but in some ways a naturally strong safety game is even more of a talent considering mist players take years to develop one and some never do (hi Murphy).

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby Andre147

That was a good shot because it actually left Robbo a pot on, and that was Yan's intention, because by potting a red, Robbo effectively had no colour to play, therefore he loses another maximum 7 points.

Shot of the tournament could be Murphy's black, but as good as that was, Yan's shot is clever no doubt.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby TheRocket

His tactical play is brillant, so is his Snooker brain. He is very unlike the other players who are around his age group.

I think his big weakness is positional play but if he can improve on that he'll win titles.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby Prop

Iranu wrote:
Prop wrote:“The young Chinese players are all good potters but that’s all”

I’m paraphrasing there, but we’ve all heard similar lines from the usual pundits. And, largely, it’s true. But Yan does seem to have something very different. Does he stay up late, watching old Ray Reardon and Steve Davis videos? Because that’s what he’s got. And it’s a whole different skill to have at 20, regardless of the grass roots you develop in.

That perpetual prophecy of yours will come right soon enough.

I think it’s just natural ability. People have said the same of Higgins, that he had a mature safety game even as a teenager.

Some people think talent translates only to potting and breakbuilding (and by the way Yan is a talented potter too although he didn’t show much of that today) but in some ways a naturally strong safety game is even more of a talent considering mist players take years to develop one and some never do (hi Murphy).


Interesting point.

I never looked at it that way - I always saw the art of safety as something much more cerebral; something that would take years of experience (of the angles, textbook shots etc) or ‘study’ to master. It’s the actual conception and visualisation, before the player even lines up the shot, that usually takes time to nurture. And like you say, some players never learn it. I’d imagine the vast majority do have to learn it. But you could be right, some players might just be completely switched on right from the start.

When we usually talk about a ‘natural’ player, it’s in terms of their ball-striking, their cue action, and that’s definitely a physical and technical thing (or more specifically the brain to body connection).

They are two distinct skills. Conception and application. The former is purely cerebral. Perhaps on average, far fewer players turn out to be natural tacticians than those that are clear naturals at application. And it could be that we notice the natural tacticians even less, because while we can observe each shot of a player with a flawless cue action, we can’t necessarily see the cogs whirring in the brain of a natural tactician, until we see the application of that conception. As we’ve seen here.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby SnookerEd25

SnookerFan wrote:Who is this Yan Bingtao?

I rarely hear him mentioned.


Well that’s not surprising. You’re hardly a regular here.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby SnookerFan

SnookerEd25 wrote:
SnookerFan wrote:Who is this Yan Bingtao?

I rarely hear him mentioned.


Well that’s not surprising. You’re hardly a regular here.


Yeah. Who is everybody? What's going on?

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby McManusFan

Prop wrote:
Iranu wrote:
Prop wrote:“The young Chinese players are all good potters but that’s all”

I’m paraphrasing there, but we’ve all heard similar lines from the usual pundits. And, largely, it’s true. But Yan does seem to have something very different. Does he stay up late, watching old Ray Reardon and Steve Davis videos? Because that’s what he’s got. And it’s a whole different skill to have at 20, regardless of the grass roots you develop in.

That perpetual prophecy of yours will come right soon enough.

I think it’s just natural ability. People have said the same of Higgins, that he had a mature safety game even as a teenager.

Some people think talent translates only to potting and breakbuilding (and by the way Yan is a talented potter too although he didn’t show much of that today) but in some ways a naturally strong safety game is even more of a talent considering mist players take years to develop one and some never do (hi Murphy).


Interesting point.

I never looked at it that way - I always saw the art of safety as something much more cerebral; something that would take years of experience (of the angles, textbook shots etc) or ‘study’ to master. It’s the actual conception and visualisation, before the player even lines up the shot, that usually takes time to nurture. And like you say, some players never learn it. I’d imagine the vast majority do have to learn it. But you could be right, some players might just be completely switched on right from the start.

When we usually talk about a ‘natural’ player, it’s in terms of their ball-striking, their cue action, and that’s definitely a physical and technical thing (or more specifically the brain to body connection).

They are two distinct skills. Conception and application. The former is purely cerebral. Perhaps on average, far fewer players turn out to be natural tacticians than those that are clear naturals at application. And it could be that we notice the natural tacticians even less, because while we can observe each shot of a player with a flawless cue action, we can’t necessarily see the cogs whirring in the brain of a natural tactician, until we see the application of that conception. As we’ve seen here.


Someone posted this juniors final between Higgins and Williams a while back (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ_PeOyp__Q). It's a great watch, and you can see even as kids they know how to play tactically.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby lhpirnie

Iranu wrote:
Prop wrote:“The young Chinese players are all good potters but that’s all”

I’m paraphrasing there, but we’ve all heard similar lines from the usual pundits. And, largely, it’s true. But Yan does seem to have something very different. Does he stay up late, watching old Ray Reardon and Steve Davis videos? Because that’s what he’s got. And it’s a whole different skill to have at 20, regardless of the grass roots you develop in.

That perpetual prophecy of yours will come right soon enough.

I think it’s just natural ability. People have said the same of Higgins, that he had a mature safety game even as a teenager.

Some people think talent translates only to potting and breakbuilding (and by the way Yan is a talented potter too although he didn’t show much of that today) but in some ways a naturally strong safety game is even more of a talent considering mist players take years to develop one and some never do (hi Murphy).

Yes, tactical play is actually the reason why he was selected for the CBSA Academy at the age of 12 - it's what stood out amongst many talented kids. Before that, he and his parents were living in 1 room, having moved to Beijing looking for a breakthrough.


Yan doesn't tend to score heavily in these TV matches. Often, on outside tables, he piles in high breaks. At some point he will be able to show us the full range, but he's still a bit cautious under the spotlight.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby HustleKing

Murphy's black against Williams to go 3-1 up is shot of the tournament, end of discussion.

Re: Such an intelligent shot

Postby Andre147

HustleKing wrote:Murphy's black against Williams to go 3-1 up is shot of the tournament, end of discussion.


It will be hard to see one shot surpassing that until the end of the week.