By Elliott West
“Apart from Ronnie, he is the best player to watch by a mile. When I (first) played Xintong when he was 13 I thought he could be a special player, he now is a special player”.
Mark Williams
Introduction
There has been a constant debate in recent years of when another Chinese snooker player would breakthrough on the main tour. We know of course what this was like when Ding Junhui stormed onto the main tour in 2003 and went on to claim 14 major ranking titles including 2 UK Championship and 3 Masters’ titles. However, since these heady days, Ding has almost sunk into obscurity with only glimmers of excellence being shown by players such as Liang Wenbo who won the 2016 English Open and Yan Bingtao who has claimed the 2019 Riga Masters and the 2021 Masters.
However, I was very excited when I saw a major tidal wave appear at last year’s UK Championship. This wave came in the form of the highly talented Zhao Xintong. A player who is definitely one of the most exciting players I have seen in my nearly forty years of watching snooker. Someone who doesn’t crack under pressure, find another gear when behind in the match, has a great knowledge of what shots to produce when it matters, is a high break-builder and is a solid safety game. At only 24, he swept up his first ranking title last year, defeating Luca Brecel 10-5 to claim a major component of the Triple Crown series, the UK Championship.
Knocking on the Door
At the time of the victory, I strongly believed that this young man was on the first rung of greatness and by winning his first title, takes this empowerment to any level. No longer are you a protagonist but you become a serious challenger, someone is proven your form and has to the trophy to prove it. So when Zhao came to Berlin, I was one of the few people that said this gifted Chinese player could win the German Masters and his scoresheet would soon prove with a 5-3 victory over Mark Williams and a 6-1 win over Judd Trump, the ground was set. I predicted an all Chinese final and it happened. Playing his good friend Yan Bingtao in this marvellous German arena, the Tempodrom, the gods seemed to be on Zhao’s side from the outset. Xintong had the advantage going into this final, being the fresher of the two players, winning the afternoon semi-final in style and Bingtao slugging out a 5-4 evening win against Mark Allen.
However what I didn’t predict what was to ensue with Zhao Xintong keeping his opponent pinned to his chair from the outset. Rather like a boxer out for the count on the ropes, Yan couldn’t recover from that sucker punch and Zhao was allowed to produce snooker poetry on a table that might as well have had his name carved into it. The two may have been all smiles and embracing each other at the start of the match but by the end, there was only one player with a beaming smile on his face, Zhao Xintong. A man who had just accomplished a 9-0 whitewash.
Afterthoughts
Zhao won because he pounced on his opponent’s mistakes and kept him cold. The match was really won in the afternoon session with Xintong taking all eight frames and only needing one frame to claim victory going into the evening session. This win is not only spectacular in its feat but joins those rare whitewash wins in ranking finals. Two that spring to mind was when Steve Davis beat Dean Reynolds 10-0 in the 1989 Grand Prix and Neil Robertson who crushed Zhao Yuelong 9-0 in the 2020 European Masters.
Xintong’ s victory at the German Masters, makes him the second Chinese player to win this title, the first coming from Ding Junhui in 2014. Producing two victories in a month is highly impressive and this Chinese player is starting to tighten an iron grip on the season. It is true that he did have a brief blip in the World Grand Prix and Snooker Shoot Out but for whatever reasons, he seems to thrive and shine in major events. He has some minor faults to his game but they are really minimal. Sometimes he loses his concentration when in the balls but these are things that can be ironed out with experience.
It is fitting that Zhao has won the German Masters, especially as the trophy has been named after its innovator, the late, great and dearly missed, Brandon Parker. I was just checking the odds for him to win the World Championship and bookmakers have him priced at 16-1. Yes, this is a steeper hill to climb and would he be able to overcome the fierce competition for this esteemed prize for seventeen days of snooker endurance? I will be bold and say yes. I strongly feel that Zhao is world champion material and if he doesn’t do it this year, expect his hands in the crown in the next five years. He has the calibre, game and skill to achieve it and expect many more titles on his road to conquering the Crucible. It will be interesting to see how he fairs in a tournament with Ronnie O’Sullivan at his best and Neil Robertson on fine form, not blighted by Covid as he was after his positive result after losing 5-3 to Ricky Walden on the opening day of the German Masters.
