He is still banned from playing in his homeland, but snooker sensation Zhao Xintong yesterday made sporting history by becoming the first Asian player to win the world championship.
The 28-year-old Chinese star pocketed £500,000 as he put on a cueing masterclass to overcome Welsh veteran Mark Williams at the Crucible, in Sheffield, in an 18-12 victory.
Three-time winner Williams was also vying for a history-making win which would have made him the oldest world champion at the age of 50.
Xintong, nicknamed The Cyclone, had brushed aside his idol Ronnie O’Sullivan on the famous green baize in the semi-finals, who following his humbling 17-7 defeat posted a throwback snap of the two of their first-ever encounter, back when his opponent was just a child.
The left-hander, who lives just 10 minutes away from the Crucible, incredibly romped to the title classed as an ‘amateur’ and having to triumph in four qualifiers before even making it to the first round.
Sunday night’s session began 17-8, meaning Xintong only needed one frame to win the title. And while Williams mounted an early comeback, winning the opening four frames, Xintong finally secured the final one he needed to propel him to snooker glory.
O’Sullivan had seen his talent first hand all those years ago when he declared to the Telegraph that Xintong ‘could be the Roger Federer of snooker’.
Yet there’s a cloud that hangs over Xintong’s remarkable win as he would not have even been playing at this year’s tournament were it not for his early guilty plea over his part in the sport’s biggest ever match-fixing scandal.
Snooker’s newest megastar was rising up the ranks and had won the UK championship in 2021 when a year later he was one of 10 Chinese players charged in the probe by an independent panel.
Snooker’s newest megastar Zhao Xintong poses with Welsh veteran in front of the world snooker trophy ahead of their final clash at the Crucible in Sheffield
Xintong yesterday made sporting history by becoming the first Asian player to win the world championship
Xintong has previously shared a picture of him as a child with snooker veteran Mark Williams who he beat yesterday
Read More
Scandal-hit Zhao Xintong on course to be crowned snooker's first Asian world champion
He was the only player who did not directly throw a match, but he received a 20-month ban in 2023 for being party to another player fixing and for betting on games himself.
Ringleaders Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were banned from snooker for life after being found guilty of serial match-fixing.
While 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao will be off the tour until December 2027 as he serves a five-year ban.
Wenbo – who won the 2016 English Open – and world No71 at the time Hang were found to have fixed or been party to fix five snooker matches.
They also ‘solicited, induced, enticed, persuaded, encouraged or facilitated players’ to fix nine and seven matches respectively, as well as attempting to cover-up their involvement by deleting messages on their phones.
The 58-page report published by the WPBSA’s disciplinary commission revealed Xintong had tried to dissuade Bingtao, who had known since the age of 16, from fixing matches.
It also found he had shown ‘genuine remorse for his actions’.
As a result of his suspension, Xintong was dumped off the professional tour, meaning he had to join the amateur Q Tour when he returned to the table last September.
Xintong boats more than 20,000 followers on Instagram and regularly flaunts his opulent lifestyle – whether it’s driving around in a Lamborghini, luxuriating on holidays and boats or showing off his adorable Pomeranian-type dog.
But there was a notable gap in his frequent posts after he was banned from the sport in January 2023. He did not post for four months, where he was then met with comments such as ‘cheat’ and ‘you broke my heart’.
Xintong, who hails from Xi’an in north central China but moved to the UK in 2016, has had a sensational return to the sport since coming back in September.
It caps off a sensational return for the Chinese star who was banned in January 2023 for 20 months. He spent time luxuriating on holidays and returning to China during his time away
Xintong regularly shows off his fun lifestyle to his 20,000 followers on Instagram
He is pictured here with his dog at a lake in China in January – a few months after returning to the sport
In another photo from January, he is seen enjoying a boat trip in Dubai. Months later, he has been crowned world champion
Xintong high-fives a snooker fan as he walks down the Crucible steps to head towards the famous green baize
The 28-year-old pocketed £500,000 as he put on a cueing masterclass to brush aside the Welsh veteran who himself was vying to make history by becoming the oldest world champion
Xintong lines up the black ball during his final match with Williams on day seventeen of the Halo World Snooker Championship
Three-time winner Williams was also vying for a history-making win which would have made him the oldest world champion at the age of 50
Read More
Ronnie O'Sullivan shares incredible throwback photo with rising star who thrashed him
He has won 47 of his 49 matches and thrashed seven-time champion O’Sullivan with a session to spare in the semi-final on Friday.
Xintong vowed ‘never to do it again’ when asked ahead of the semi-final clash whether he felt he had been given a second chance.
While in his first interview upon his return from his ban last year he described his part in the shameful match-fixing as a ‘little mistake’.
‘I know how important snooker is to me and now I just want to come back to the snooker table,’ he told the BBC.
‘Let them know this is a big lesson, don’t make the mistake,’ he said in a warning to other young players. ‘Play snooker, it’s a very good thing.
‘These two years have been very long for me, I’ve practised every day. I knew I would come back so I need to keep confident in myself.
‘I believe that if I play well then I can beat anybody. I’m just going to try my best.’
It is a remarkable comeback win for Xintong, who two years ago must have been fearing his career was over.
His Instagram posts show that he spent several months back in China, showing off his trips to incredible lakes and resorts.
But in October last year, the snooker posts restarted and he was met with comments from fans saying ‘He’s back!’ and ‘Congratulations!’
In China, it remains to be seen whether he is lauded as a national hero after furious chiefs slapped an extra 10 months to his ban meaning he cannot play in his home nation until July 1.
Snooker journalist Nick Metcalfe was also irked by the ‘flowery language’ that has been used since Xintong’s return.
Liang Wenbo (left) and Li Hang have both been banned from snooker for life after they were found guilty of match-fixing
Xintong was snooker’s next rising star when he won the UK Championship in 2021 before he was caught up in the sport’s biggest match-fixing scandal
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been one of Xintong’s staunchest supporters as posted a throwback picture of the two of their first-ever encounter, back when his opponent was just a child
Xintong brushed aside his idol O’Sullivan in the semi-finals with a 17-7 win. O’Sullivan has previously said that Xintong could be ‘snooker’s Roger Federer’
Xintong, who moved to Britain in 2016, vowed ‘never to do it again’ when asked ahead of the semi-final clash whether he felt he had been given a second chance following his ban
In his first interview upon his return from his ban last year he described his part in the shameful match-fixing as a ‘little mistake’
Read More
Snooker world rocked by match-fixing scandal as 10 players are banned amid allegations of bullying and the involvement of criminal gangs, leaving the sport shrouded in controversy on the eve of 2023 Masters
‘Coming so soon after the ban, some of the headlines – certainly from outside the snooker bubble – might well be the last thing the sport needs,’ he told the BBC ahead of the final.
‘We all presumed that a first Chinese world champion would be a special moment for everyone in the game, almost a moment of unalloyed joy, but I’m sure that won’t be the case if Zhao claims the title this weekend.’
WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson, though, has leapt to Xintong’s defence saying: ‘It’s important to talk about this and very openly.
‘We are not a sport that has shied away from our problems.
‘We are a sport that has gone publicly and said: “We have got a problem – we are going to clean it up.” And we did.
‘Zhao served his time. He’s back here. He has paid his fine. And he has also done the right thing. He was full of remorse from day one. He has made public apologies.
‘He has gone out in public in China and made apologies. And he’s followed a route trying to work his way back into the sport. Been very dedicated. Kept his head down.
‘That is a man prepared to the finest standard, he’s prepared his mind and prepared to face the public again.’
As for O’Sullivan, he this week remained one of Xintong’s staunchest supporters following his humbling loss.
O’Sullivan said: ‘The game’s missed him. His scoring and potting is incredible.
‘He’s very big in China as it is but, if he becomes world champion, it will be unbelievable. He’d be a mega star. It will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well.’