Stephen Hendry issues urgent plea after World Snooker Championship | Other | Sport
Snooker legend Stephen Hendry has called on European players to step up and challenge Chinese dominance of the sport. The last two winners at the Crucible have hailed from China, with Zhao Xintong winning in 2025 and Wu Yize coming out on top in 2026. Seven-time winner Hendry still holds the record of youngest champion, though Wu is now second on the list after his victory over Shaun Murphy on Monday.
There were 11 Chinese players in the main draw in Sheffield out of a field of 32, with only England (13) contributing more. “It’s incredible, the talent coming from China now. The young talent is incredible,” BBC pundit Hendry said on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips. “They are taking the game to new levels. We need some young blood from these shores – obviously with Stan Moody, Liam Pullen did really well, Antoni Kowalski did really well at the World Championship. These three are going to have to step up if they’re going to keep up with the likes of Xintong and Wu Yize.”
English prospect Moody, 19, reached the first round of the World Championship for the first time and took an early lead against former champion Kyren Wilson before losing 10-7. Pullen was also making his main draw debut at 20 and took six frames off Chris Wakelin.
Kowalski became Poland’s first representative in the competition at the age of 22 after coming through three rounds of qualifying. His campaign also ended in round one, with Mark Williams handing him a 10-4 defeat.
New world champion Wu, also 22, had never got beyond the first round in Sheffield before this year. However, after beating former world champions Murphy and Mark Selby in this year’s edition of the tournament, he has no plans to move away from the city he has called his home since the age of 16.
“I don’t have any plans,” Wu told BBC Sport after clinching a dramatic 18-17 win in the final. “I think I will buy a house or an apartment in Sheffield for practice and the World Championship.”
One more experienced European player who did come in for praise from Hendry was losing finalist Murphy. The 43-year-old was hailed during his semi-final win over reigning champion Zhao and it prompted him to joke about the pundit needing an intervention.
“It was nigh on the perfect session,” Hendry said. “I don’t think Shaun will have ever played as good a session, it was a super-human performance and it needed that to take out Zhao Xintong, because he wasn’t playing badly.”
