Patience has paid off Xiao Guodong as he heads to the World Championship as a genuine contender for the title. Ding Junhui no longer carries Chinese snooker hopes on his shoulders, with four players from the country securing a direct ticket to Sheffield as top 16 seeds.
They include Xiao, who has enjoyed a breakthrough season, including a long-awaited maiden ranking title. His 10-7 victory over compatriot Si Jiahui in the Wuhan Open final in October came 17 years after he turned professional. Only slightly younger than Ding, the 36-year-old has had to bide his time for success since heading to the UK as a teenager to join the tour. A new country, unable to speak English, not used to cooking for himself and struggling to make ends meet financially – there were some tough times for a young Xiao. “I came into London Heathrow in September 2007, it was very cold,” he recalls. “Back then, we didn’t make a lot of money, not like now. I couldn’t speak English. The only thing I could say was ‘thank you’ and ‘OK’.
“It wasn’t like a new country, it was like a new world! I had to cook for myself, it was the first time I’d left my family. To speak to my parents, I had to buy a phone card. Not like now with the internet. It was very hard.”
But he never gave up on living out dreams forged by watching footage of Alex Higgins and the ‘Black Ball final’ between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor, which predated his birth.
The game is now awash with exciting Chinese talent who have things a little easier than a young Xiao did. That’s thanks to modern technology like video calling and Ding, whose academy in Sheffield has helped young players settle into their new surroundings.
“Now it’s a perfect time,” says Xiao. “Ding has his snooker academy in Sheffield. There’s an app where you can pay for food in RMB [Chinese currency] without cash. You can talk to Chinese friends and family. This moment, they come here at a very good time.”
He believes his fellow countryman deserves to win the world title for all he has done for Chinese snooker. Not just for his exploits on the table, but for how he has helped players from the Far East adapt to life on the tour.
“Hopefully Ding can win it once because he wins every [other] tournament,” says Xiao. “Only the World Championship he hasn’t won. [It would be] good for him but also the Chinese market would become very big.
“Chinese fans want Ding to win. I played him as a young boy. He helped young players a lot by opening an academy. Not making money [from the academy], always spending money. He gives us somewhere to practice.”
Xiao has been inspiring young players himself with his form this season. He hopes his overdue Wuhan win will open the floodgates for more success. He admits: “When I first came to UK, I told myself I have to win the World Championship once. So I wait too long! When I won in Wuhan, it felt like it had been too long.”
Lifting the trophy in Sheffield would be a dream come true for Xiao, who begins his Crucible campaign on Saturday. He says: “The Crucible means everything to a snooker player, it’s a dream crown. Everyone wants to show how good they are, everyone wants to win the title. That’s the real title, like the World Cup.
“For me, I have to enjoy it first. The second thing is to work hard. It’s a mental game and I need to be focused and happy. I still think there’s a long way to go. Sometimes, I can play a high-level game. Sometimes, it’s not such a high level. I have to improve. I think, one day, I’m going to be a top play, but there’s still a long way to go.”