Sheffield to China: Zhao Xintong ready to embrace life as new world snooker champion

And if the scenes which greeted him when he met fans outside the Crucible theatre in Sheffield yesterday morning – just 12 hours after lifting the Halo World Championship – are anything to go by, then he is guaranteed a hero’s welcome in his homeland.

An estimated 150 million people in China watched on television as Zhao – who lives and trains in Sheffield – beat three-time world champion Mark Williams 18-12 to complete one of snooker’s unlikeliest of triumphs. He is the first player from Asia to be world champion.

With media commitments and the annual post-final party to attend, the 28-year-old had little time to mingle with fans after his win.

But Zhao returned to the Crucible on Tuesday morning – after “just two or three hours sleep” – when hundreds of fans queued around the theatre for the chance to meet snooker’s new world champion.

“It feels amazing and I still can’t believe it,” Zhao told The Yorkshire Post. “It’s a very important moment for my career.

“I am going back to China to celebrate. I have booked a flight for tomorrow (Wednesday), these two days I am very tired.”

Zhao – who won the UK Championship in 2021 – was competing in Sheffield as an amateur, looking to rebuild his career following a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations.

The World Championship is often referred to as a marathon, lasting 17 days. But Zhao’s race lasted 28 days, with his first qualifying round match starting on April 7 at the nearby English Institute of Sport.

“I can’t believe that I have gone 28 days in the World Championship,” said Zhao, who was speaking at Victoria’s Academy – just a short walk away from the Crucible.

“Before the first match I just wanted to reach the Crucible, that was my target.

“This season I only played a few matches. I have come back very quickly, so I just tried my best. I can’t believe I reached the final and got the trophy.”

Zhao – who moved to Sheffield when he was 19, in 2016 – beat last year’s finalist Jak Jones in the first round at the Crucible, before knocking out Lei Peifan and Chris Wakelin.

He then stunned Ronnie O’Sullivan – who was chasing a record eighth Crucible crown – winning 17-7 with a session to spare in the semi-final, before cruising to victory against Welshman Williams in the final.

“Every round gave me confidence, made me believe I could carry on,” he said. “I was so nervous, I just tried not to look nervous, saying to myself ‘yeah, you can do it’.

Zhao built up a 7-1 lead after the opening session on Sunday, and took a 17-8 lead into Monday night’s finale.

Needing just more frame for victory, the fans turning up could have been forgiven for a short evening’s entertainment.

But Williams – at 50, the oldest finalist in Crucible history – showed his never-say-die attitude, reeling off the first four frames to cut the deficit to 17-12 at the mid-session interval.

But hopes of an unlikely comeback were never realistic, as Zhao regained his composure with a match-clinching break of 87, before wrapping himself in a Chinese flag as he posed for pictures.

“I was so nervous,” Zhao said. “Mark is still a top player and put me under so much pressure. It feels like a dream.

“When we shook hands I was nearly crying. It's very good for Chinese snooker and I am happy I have done this for the people there. I hope it will give power to the young players.

“I don't know how I have played so well here, I didn't believe I could become World Champion this year, I am so proud of myself. I will take the trophy home to China and show it to my parents and friends.”

Victory saw Zhao bank £500,000 and a place in the world’s top 16 for next season.

Williams said: “Xintong is going to be a national hero now. He’ll be on the front page of every news outlet going and I’m sure there are Chinese companies ready to throw zillions at him.

“It’s great for our sport to have someone at the top who is so attacking and so young.

"We have a new superstar. It's what snooker needed, someone like him to come through.

"He will be a great world champion.”

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the sport’s global governing body, the WPBSA, has long championed the growth of the sport in China.

“I think Xintong has the potential to become the richest snooker player in the history of the sport,” said Ferguson. “That’s quite a bold statement when you think about the titles players like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan won.

“But the size of the market is huge and when you see the association of the brands who want to partner with snooker, it has endless potential.

“This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has ever seen. We’ve seen the growth in the China market and we’ve seen the size and scale of grass-roots development underneath that.

“To see a world champion returning to China as a national hero is only really going to send the sport to another level.”