Inside minutes of changing into China’s trailblazing world snooker champion, Zhao Xintong was draped in his nation’s flag as he began to absorb the enormity of his achievement.
Zhao defeated three-time winner Mark Williams 18-12 on Monday to change into the primary Asian participant and beginner to triumph on the Crucible.
Williams referred to as the 28-year-old a “famous person”, and Jason Ferguson – chairman of the game’s governing physique – mentioned Zhao was set to take snooker “to a different stage”.
“We’re speaking a couple of nationwide hero – he has entered the historical past books of this sport and in China he’ll in all probability be one of many largest stars there,” Ferguson, chairman of the World Skilled Billiards and Snooker Affiliation (WPBSA), advised BBC Sport.
“Snooker is so massive in China. He’s younger, gifted and entertaining and speaks each English and Mandarin. That is going to take snooker to a different stage.
“China loves its heroes and winners. Some nations again underdogs however in China they actually have fun their champions. He has the flexibility to change into the most well-liked sporting star within the nation.”
The 28-year-old additionally grew to become solely the third qualifier after Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy to seize snooker’s largest prize for the reason that match moved to Sheffield in 1977.
His achievement is all of the extra extraordinary given he solely returned from a 20-month suspension earlier this season after being certainly one of 10 gamers from China sanctioned in a match-fixing scandal.
Nonetheless, he carried over the scintillating type he has proven all season on the beginner Q Tour and remarkably grew to become the primary participant to return by means of 4 qualifying matches after which elevate the trophy at snooker’s most well-known venue.
After the ultimate, Williams mentioned: “I am glad I will be too previous when he is dominating the sport. I’ve acquired nothing however admiration for what he is completed, coming by means of the qualifiers. He hasn’t performed for 2 years, bashed everyone up. There is a new famous person of the sport.
“It may very well be large for the game. It may open floodgates all over the place. He may dominate or a minimum of give [Judd] Trump or Kyren [Wilson] a run for his or her cash. With the Luke Littler factor in darts, that is what snooker wanted, somebody like him coming by means of.
“It’s certain to open doorways. It will likely be entrance web page on each information outlet going.”
Zhao’s success completes a double for the nation, which has greater than 300,000 snooker golf equipment for its inhabitants of 1.4 billion.
Bai Yulu was the primary Chinese language winner of the Girls’s World Championship in 2024 and can defend the title in her homeland this month.
Might Zhao, who’s in Sheffield to report for the Worldwide Sport Press Affiliation, added: “Zhao’s victory shouldn’t be solely a private triumph but additionally a historic breakthrough for Chinese language snooker.
“I believe he might be given an enormous reception when he returns to the nation and this win is bound to encourage the youthful era in China and drive the event of the nation’s coaching system and construction.
“It has the potential to reshape the business panorama of the sport. He isn’t just a champion – he’s a trailblazer for a brand new period of Chinese language snooker.”
