If you met a top ranked player in the street

[trains]

Let’s hope snooker doesn’t end up as popular as table tennis in China. If it does and it becomes state funded then you’ve only got to look at the total domination China has in the world at that sport .

sure but it would still be hard to displace the o'sullivans trump's and selby's at the top , as steve davis said after o'sullivan won a tournament a while ago something like ' you can't play snooker much better than this ' , they'll still be the kyren wilson's contending for things at the business end but yes the divide in young new pro calibre players between england and china could be huge if it isn't already now .

[itsnoteasy]

on asking google how many snooker clubs are in shanghai i'm getting this

1,500 snooker clubs
There are, to date, an astonishing 1,500 snooker clubs in Shanghai and 1,200 snooker clubs in Beijing – which is incredible when compared to the participation levels in the rest of the world.28 Apr 2016

Wow that's mind blowing, wonder why I only got a list of 11 come up. 1500 is just crazy, there must be tens of thousands across the whole of China.

[MrRottweiler]

I'm trying to find more information on how many clubs are in China but all the articles seem to copy each other and specify 1500 in Shangai and 1200 in Beijing but none go in to any more detail. No drilling down in to numbers by region or notable venues which makes me think it might not be accurate but is reproduced so often on website articles that it features in search engine results. I'm sure there are a lot in those cities but those figures seems very high. The Sport In China wiki page says 300 clubs in Beijing but not sure when that was last revised. I wonder what constitutes a 'snooker club' and if it can be somewhere with just a few tables or if they are large open plan buildings packed with tables. Must be a cut throat business with so many clubs.

[trains]

This five year old bbc link also says 1500 clubs in shanghai but again without any elaboration , really is a bit weird the lack of elaboration over all this time .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32429022

[147888J]

on asking google how many snooker clubs are in shanghai i'm getting this

1,500 snooker clubs
There are, to date, an astonishing 1,500 snooker clubs in Shanghai and 1,200 snooker clubs in Beijing – which is incredible when compared to the participation levels in the rest of the world.28 Apr 2016

I live in Shanghai, and downtown there are relatively few clubs given the size of the area/percentage of people in the city 20 snooker clubs max (downtown is enormous and covers a fair few districts). In the suburbs outside of the main districts you can find more snooker halls. Usually relatively beat up in all honesty, with the odd one amazing one (usually gone by the time you have time to revisit a few months later).
I find it quite challenging to find places nearby to where I live. I play at a cheap club weekday nights after work when I have time, and at a mid-quality club on the weekends when I have more time to travel.

[147888J]

This five year old bbc link also says 1500 clubs in shanghai but again without any elaboration , really is a bit weird the lack of elaboration over all this time .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32429022

Even on DianPing APP there aren't 1500 total, let alone active and inactive listing. Do they mean since they began recording how many were in the city or what? lol

[itsnoteasy]

Asked a coach who's at one of the academies in China what snooker was like in China, how many clubs and players etc, expecting to get some crazy numbers. He told me snooker is pretty much dying if not dead in China now, they have all gone to their version of eightball.

[balkend]

i'm sure gilbert's a nice guy but i think he benefitted from practising as an amateur on pro tables that has elevated him to where he is , if i met him all i'd really want to say is congrats dave for having realistic affordable access to pro tables , kind of defeats any purpose in reality for a conversation in real life because it would sound like i might be diminishing him as a player which i wouldn't really but its just reality .

Dave Gilbert would go home beaming with pride and happiness after meeting you on the street , he would consider himself very lucky to hear your opinion of him and benefit from your wisdom.

[147888J]

Asked a coach who's at one of the academies in China what snooker was like in China, how many clubs and players etc, expecting to get some crazy numbers. He told me snooker is pretty much dying if not dead in China now, they have all gone to their version of eightball.

To be fair, Chinese 8ball is bloody fun! Wish they didn't ruin so many of those snooker cues they imported just to play it lol (buying a cue here was a surprising pain in the ass considering it's where the 'market' is (and by that I mean taobao resellers who have bought up tons of bespoke and imported (thus defying the nature of custom (then often getting them *******ised here (woah, so many layers of parenthesis)))))

I've certainly met a lot better players more often here, but it seems just like home in terms of participation. Those who like it, love it. People who play the game don't banter/bull**** the same. Which can be funny sometimes. It's much better banter than when I was in the US lol

I hope they open a hall in a more convenient location to me, as right now I feel like I am doing the tour of Shanghai's rear-end looking for the place