“He is something special.”
Dennis Taylor
Introduction
The snooker world has long been waiting for a Chinese World Champion. Ding Junhui was the best, but he has never captured it. So it would take someone very special to attain this treasured snooker grail, and thanks to a sprinkle of magic dust, Zhao Xintong hit our television screens. The player, dubbed The Cyclone, is the most naturally gifted player I have ever seen, bar Ronnie O’Sullivan. His long potting is on another level, and his mastery of opening up a middle pocket is second to none. A player who leaves his nerves in his suitcase and seems to enjoy every nanosecond on a snooker table.
Something Special
In the final, Mark Williams didn’t push Zhao, and despite still being slightly rough around the edges, Zhao maintained his turbo speed and took the vital frames when they mattered—a fearless player with a fantastic story. One of the players embroiled in the match-fixing scandal, the 28-year-old managed to bounce back and win four matches in the World Championship qualifiers—someone’s parents who have to watch behind closed doors. The 28-year-old makes mistakes, but who doesn’t? We are all human. Yet despite his minor faults, the player who has been compared to a young Jimmy White has graduated in all game elements. In his final against Mark Williams, Mark seemed to be playing for pride. It seems easy to forget that Zhao won the UK Championship and the German Masters with some ease between 2021 and 2022, and if it hadn’t been for his involvement, he would probably have had a few more trophies in his cabinet. A player who only turned professional in 2016 and is now an amateur. He destroyed Ronnie O’Sullivan in his semi-final encounter at this year’s World Championship, pouncing on his opponent’s woes with tip, cue and confidence problems. An irony of snooker is that the two are friends off the table, and Ronnie touts him as the best invention since sliced bread. When I watch Zhao play, he looks like he is on a practice table. He saunters around the table and floats the balls like there is no tomorrow. Like White, Trump, and even the late Alex Higgins, Xintong is unafraid to take the bull by the horns and attempt the brave and aggressive pots.
Although he didn’t win this year’s World Championship with a session to spare, he still went into the concluding evening session at 17-8 with just one frame needed to claim the title. It was a relief for anyone who had a ticket for the evening but one that was guaranteed to be a somewhat short affair. There is no doubt that Williams managed to survive everything that was thrown at him, including the kitchen sink, but despite all his Welsh mastery and the hope that he could peg him back, Zhao was too much of a force. Zhao was already adamant that this would be his year of victory. Steve Davis had already called it in the afternoon session. This match was too far for Williams despite a fightback that included winning breaks and getting past the interval. The end result was 18-12, but the result may have differed on another day. This victory is a monument and will cause shockwaves in China, with Xintong now catapulted to 11th in the world rankings and ranked 2nd in seedings for every event next season. The ninth International World champion and someone who will cause the 3,000 snooker halls in China to be packed out. With many sponsorship deals and other profitable ventures to land in his corner, the world is now Zhao’s oyster. Bravo, and well deserved!
