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

Wu Yize entered the TNT billiards club to a welcome worthy of a rock star.

Loud chanting and cheering rang around the room in the western Chinese city of Xi'an.

He waved modestly, wearing the expression of a shy 22-year-old not used to such sudden fame at home.

But that did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who had come to get a glimpse of someone on top of the world.

Earlier this week, a Chinese player won the World Snooker championship for the second year in a row, and it has captivated this country.

It is not only the repeat success driving this. It is also the fairytale story of a young man who dropped out of school aged 16 to move to Sheffield, England, in pursuit of a dream to turn professional.

He has now returned home as the second-youngest player ever to be crowned world champion.

The BBC asked Wu what he thought of so many fans turning out to see him. He replied with a gentle smile: "It's great to feel the warmth of my homeland."

The baby-faced snooker magician showed off some shots to the ooh-ing and ah-ing audience, including when he played one fan, Liu YiFei. She had won an earlier play-off here to have a hit with him.

She said Wu Yize's success had made her more determined to improve her own skills, and that this country expected to see plenty more like him in the future.

"In China, so many more people are playing," she said. "More pool halls are opening, and the sport is becoming ever more popular."

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 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.