The 2019 World Snooker China Open, a professional-ranked snooker tournament, will be held in the National Olympic Center in Beijing from April 1 to 7, according to a press release held recently at the Grand Metro Park Longxi Conference Center in Daxing district, Beijing.

Xingpai Group, the title sponsor of the 2019 World Snooker China Open, is a local company in Daxing district. It has become the world’s largest manufacturer and a leading brand of billiards equipment. Taking up the opportunity to be involved with this tournament, Daxing district will host players and guests from all over the world, as the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China is celebrated.  

The imminent China Open will be co-sponsored by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the Chinese Billiards Association, and the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau. It is the most lucrative event on the World Snooker Tour other than the World Championship, with a top prize of £225,000 and total prize money of £1 million. 

According to the press release, a total of 72 players will compete in the tournament, including many of the world’s highest ranking players. Among the Top 16 players, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Judd Trump, Robbie Williams, Kyren Wilson, and Neil Robertson are confirmed to attend. On the first day of the tournament, Selby, Ding, Williams, and Xiao Guodong are scheduled to compete.

The China Open has a format requiring 6 wins out of 11 games in the first round to advance to the quarter finals, 10 wins out of 19 games to reach the semi-finals, and 11 wins out of 21 games to play in the final. It is the first tournament in the history of snooker in which the final will played over the best of 21 frames.

The World Snooker China Open has been staged in the capital city of China every year since 2005. It is now an important event of the world snooker tour. As the only snooker event including “China” in its name, it is the highest-class snooker event ever held in the country.

Title sponsor Xingpai Group is based in the Daxing district of Beijing. Over decades of development, the company has become a leading manufacturer of billiard tables, having sold millions with due proprietary intellectual property rights all over the world. As a local company with a growing global presence, its activities have expanded from billiard table manufacturing to real estate, and beyond that to hotel investment and management.

Xingpai Group is the only designated provider of billiard tables for the world’s leading professional-ranked tournaments. Known as a “champion behind the world champions”, Xingpai Group has sponsored high-achieving Chinese snooker stars such as Ding Junhui and Pan Xiaoting. Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui have been signed-up by the company as image representatives.  

Xingpai’s products are sold to over 40 countries and areas of the world. Since the 1990s, it has been an active sponsor of almost all billiard events held in China, making a significant contribution to the growing popularity of the sport in the country.

“As the China Open will begin soon, Xingpai Group will be fully dedicated to a high-quality game, and try our best to introduce snooker to more people in the world, and to make the game a great success in the history of Chinese sports. As a local company, Xingpai Group will take the opportunity to show the world the new national gateway, Daxing district, and offer our congratulations in advance for the launch of Daxing International Airport,” said Gan Lianfang, President of Xingpai Group and a WPBSA Chief Consultant.

2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of new China. Daxing district, as a national gateway under the city’s strategic planning, will be home to a new international airport in June. To support what will be the world’s largest airport upon completion, Daxing district has been working vigorously on the associated economic zone. The district is also the only pilot area among all districts in Beijing to be selected to test market-oriented utilization and management of rural collective construction land.

Utilizing the geographic advantages in hosting the new international airport, its border with the new sub-center and its connection with Xiong’an new district, and sitting at the core of Beijing-Tianjian-Hebei coordinated development planning, the local economy of Daxing district is bound to growth substantially. As a local company, Xingpai Group will continue to enhance its leading role in global markets, and contribute to Daxing district’s strategic development.