Crowds cheer China's new snooker star on return from championship win

Wu Yize's dramatic victory over Shaun Murphy on Monday meant China had a world snooker champion for the second successive year [BBC]

It is estimated that some 60 million people play billiards in China ever year, in around 300,000 halls like the one in Xi'an.

The country is now churning out high-quality snooker competitors. They currently make up a quarter of all players on the professional circuit.

This is likely to increase with the new generations already coming through.

One eight-year-old boy told the BBC he was already pretty good himself: "One day, I'd like to be champion like Wu Yize."

One of the youngest fans in the room said he wanted to grow up to be as good as Wu Yize [BBC]

One reason for China's snooker explosion is that it remains relatively cheap to play here.

It is a bonus for a sport in a city like Xi'an, which - like all of western China - has not enjoyed the same level of booming economic development as that in the country's south-east.

Even further to the west, Wu Yize's home province of Gansu - known for its deserts - is less privileged again.

That he hails from such a region has fuelled the rags to riches aspect of his story.

Tales of him sharing a bed with his father in a flat with no windows as a teenager in Sheffield have made his victory seem sweeter, especially after he declared he would spend his prize money on a place for his parents to stay in England so they could support him.

Another fan, who came from Wu Yize's home province and took hours to reach Xi'an via high-speed train, brought along a photo of the champion to get it signed.

He was brimming with excitement.

"I knew he'd become great. Now I love him even more," he said.

• Who is snooker's new superstar Wu?
• Wu beats Murphy in decider to win world title