New superstar Zhao s world title heralds Chinese snooker revolution

SHEFFIELD – Zhao Xintong was hailed as snooker’s “new superstar”, after winning the World Championship with an 18-12 victory over Mark Williams that heralded a Chinese revolution in the sport.

His fairy-tale triumph at Sheffield’s Crucible on May 5 was also a watershed moment for snooker.

The sport’s popularity in China has grown exponentially over the past two decades, helped by the success of Ding Junhui, who served as an inspiration for Zhao.

Ding lost the 2016 World Championship final to Mark Selby, but Zhao ended the wait for a first Asian male world snooker champion with a sublime display against three-time winner Williams.

The 28-year-old is just the third qualifier to win the title since the World Championship moved to the Crucible in 1977.

Zhao is also the youngest world champion since Shaun Murphy, who won aged 22 in 2005.

He is the first amateur player to win the world title, having lost his tour card in January 2023 for his part in a match-fixing scandal.

That controversy threatened to derail Zhao’s promising career when he was hit with a 20-month ban.

He accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself in a controversy that led to 10 Chinese players being punished, with life bans for Liang Wenbo and Li Hang.

But his road to redemption reached an emotional climax at the Crucible, just 10 minutes’ walk from his home in Sheffield.

Welshman Williams first won the tournament 25 years ago and was bidding to become snooker’s oldest world champion at age 50.

With that wealth of experience, he is better placed than most to rank Zhao against the current generation and he believes the left-hander could be set to dominate for years to come.