Top 10 shots of 2021/22 snooker season: No. 4 – Yan Bingtao enjoys deadly double in Berlin with do-or-die pink

Published 22/06/2022 at 10:04 GMT

The 2021/22 season has been another remarkable campaign with an array of spectacular shots bewitching millions across the globe on Eurosport, the home of snooker. We pick 10 of our favourite shots from the past nine months. Today, we study Yan Bingtao's brave double on a pink against Mark Selby at the German Masters in Berlin. Stream top snooker live and on-demand on discovery+.

'Brilliant result' - Bingtao forces decider with beautiful pair of doubles

After the conclusion of another extraordinary snooker season, we pick 10 of our favourite shots from the 2021/22 campaign as captured by the Eurosport cameras.

You can vote for your personal choice when we reveal our final list of contenders this month.

No. 4 – Yan Bingtao's glorious double in Berlin

Shanghai Masters

Who does O'Sullivan face in quest for record fifth straight Shanghai Masters title?

17/06/2024 at 14:39

Everybody loves a double, but not many players can unearth two when they are flirting with defeat at a major ranking event.

At the tender age of 22, Yan Bingtao is known as a supreme strategist in the modern game, but the 2021 Masters champion also knows the benefits of risk and reward when the mood takes him.

Yan trailed 4-3 to world champion Mark Selby during the last 16 of the German Masters in January with only four balls left on the table in the eighth frame.

One error could have buried his hopes of progress at the bustling Berlin Tempodrom before he opted to play a cross double on the brown that fairly raced down the opposite bag.

The result saw him knock the pink to an apparently safe position in the bottom half of the table with the outcome of the frame suddenly in the balance.

He slotted blue to move 13 points clear with 13 points remaining, but the problem pink became pivotal to his future health in the competition.

'Brilliant result' - Bingtao forces decider with beautiful pair of doubles

A poor safety shot would present Selby with the chance to force a re-spotted black and possibly a path to the quarter-finals, but Eurosport analyst and 1994 Masters winner Alan 'Angles' McManus did not envisage the prospect of a daring double attempt when Yan sized up the angles.

"Where that black is..is very dangerous for Yan," said McManus. "If he pushes the pink down this end, I'd be massively surprised if Mark pushed him in behind the black on the next shot. We'll see. It's a possibility."

Yan had his own plan in place. His response saw him catch pink perfectly off the side cushion as object ball bounded down the yellow pocket with more relish than a Berlin Bratwurst.

Yan gave a quick slap on the table before a break of 69 sealed a 5-4 win. It acted as a perfect palate cleanser for an epic 13-10 triumph against Selby in the World Championship last 16 three months later.

Despite losing the German Masters final 9-0 to compatriot and close friend Zhao Xintong after victories over Ryan Day (5-4) and Mark Allen (6-4), Yan's rousing run in Berlin was another pivotal piece of his remarkable upward trajectory on the table.