Zhao Xintong

Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player and the reigning World Snooker Champion. He first turned professional in the 2016–17 season, aged 19, having previously recorded wins against a number of top professionals while competing as an amateur wildcard. He had a breakthrough season in 2021–22, during which he won his first ranking title at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final, and first entered the top 16 in the snooker world rankings. He won his second ranking title at the 2022 German Masters with a 9‍–‍0 whitewash victory over Yan Bingtao in the final; he became only the third player, after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson, to win a two-session ranking final without conceding a single frame. He was ranked sixth in the world after the 2021–22 season.

In January 2023, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association suspended Zhao as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players. He was subsequently charged with having knowledge of match-fixing and betting operations on the World Snooker Tour. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, he was banned from competition for 30 months, although the WPBSA reduced his ban to 20 months, given his early admissions and guilty plea. Having lost his professional status, he returned to competition as an amateur player after his ban expired on 1 September 2024. He won four Q Tour events in a row between October 2024 and January 2025, thereby guaranteeing that he would top the 2024–25 Q Tour Europe rankings. He became the first player to make a maximum break on the Q Tour, achieving the feat twice in Events 3 and 4.

Still competing as an amateur, Zhao qualified for the main stage of the 2024 UK Championship but lost to Shaun Murphy in the first round. At the 2025 World Snooker Championship, he won four qualifying matches to reach the main stage, where he went on to defeat Ronnie O'Sullivan 17‍–‍7 in the semi-finals and Mark Williams 18‍–‍12 in the final to win his first world title, second Triple Crown title, and third ranking title. He became the first player from mainland China and also the first from Asia to win the world title; he was also the first player to win a ranking event while competing as an amateur. He became the fourth qualifier to win the world title, after Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, and Murphy. His performance at the World Championship meant that he regained his professional status for the start of the 2025–26 season, entering the snooker world rankings as world number 11.

Zhao was born and raised in the Songgang subdistrict of Bao'an, Shenzhen, Guangdong. His father, Zhao Xiaowei, who transferred from Xi'an to Songgang in 1995, is a finger reconstruction surgeon and the Vice President of Songgang People's Hospital as of the 2010s. Zhao's mother Wen Anxiao is a Songgang local and the head nurse of the same hospital as of the 2010s.

Zhao's early exposure to snooker was shaped by Shenzhen, which is known for having a well-established snooker culture, as the sport spread across the British Hong Kong–Shenzhen border in the 1980s. Zhao began playing at age eight on snooker tables set up outside stores near his house. He was not tall enough for the snooker table but, rather than using a stool, he made up his height by wearing roller skates when practising at a snooker training club in Luohu, Shenzhen, partly to look cool. He could move around the table quickly on roller skates and developed the habit of quick firing. His parents set up a snooker table in their house when Zhao was ten years old.

After graduating from Songgang No.1 Elementary School, he dropped out of Songgang Middle School in 2009 to train full time. It was rare in China for the family's only child to have parental support for quitting middle school. In 2013, he trained at the newly established WPBSA-CBSA Snooker Academy in Changping, Dongguan.

In June 2012 at the Zhangjiagang Open, Zhao defeated Xiao Guodong, Kevin McMahon, and Yu Delu, to reach the last 16 of the tournament where he lost 3‍–‍4 to Stephen Lee. He built on this success by reaching the second round of Asian Tour Events the Yixing Open and Zhengzhou Open.

As a wildcard entrant, he defeated former World Champion Ken Doherty in the professional event, the International Championship. He lost in a deciding frame 5‍–‍6 to Matthew Stevens in the last 32. Having also earned his way to the last 32 of two other events, Zhao started to gain a reputation for being a "Wildcard Menace".

The following season, at the 2013 International Championship, he beat six-time World Champion Steve Davis 6‍–‍1. Davis later described Zhao as "astonishingly good" and compared him with a young Ronnie O'Sullivan. He reached the third round of the competition before losing 2‍–‍6 to Marco Fu. However, he defeated Fu in the first round of the 2014 Shanghai Masters. Zhao entered the World Amateur Championship in late 2013 and reached the final, however he lost to his fellow countryman Zhou Yuelong 4‍–‍8, missing out on a chance to join the main professional snooker tour for the 2014‍–‍15 season.

He was narrowly defeated in the first round of the ACBS Asian Snooker Championship. He won three games in the first event of the 2015 Q School but then lost 3‍–‍4 to Alexander Ursenbacher in the penultimate round. He reached the final round of the second event before losing 3‍–‍4 to Duane Jones in a black ball finish in the deciding frame. He completed a 6‍–‍0 whitewash of Stuart Carrington to qualify for the 2015 International Championship before losing 2‍–‍6 to John Higgins in the first round. Zhao made his first appearance at a Triple Crown event at the UK Championship, but lost in the first round. He also qualified for the German Masters and Welsh Open, but was knocked out in the opening round of each. He reached the final of the 2015 IBSF World Snooker Championship, but lost 6‍–‍8 to Pankaj Advani. However, Zhao won a two-year card for the main tour after Advani declined the invitation.

Zhao met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round of the 2016 English Open. Breaks of 130, 107 and 80 gave him a 3‍–‍2 lead, but he missed chances to take the win and was defeated 3‍–‍4. O'Sullivan said afterwards that Zhao's attacking style of play had reminded him of seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry at a similar age. Zhao qualified for the 2017 German Masters by beating Li Hang 5‍–‍3 and John Higgins 5‍–‍1, and a 5‍–‍0 whitewash of Sunny Akani saw Zhao reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. He held a narrow 4‍–‍3 advantage over Ali Carter but lost the last two frames. He also reached the third round of the Gibraltar Open before losing 3‍–‍4 to Mark Williams.

Zhao was not ranked high enough at the end of the 2017‍–‍18 season to retain his spot on the World Snooker Tour, so he entered 2018 Q School in a bid to win back his place. He defeated Dechawat Poomjaeng in the second event final of Q School to regain his professional status. He reached his first professional ranking semi-finals at the 2018 China Championship, where he lost 4‍–‍6 to Mark Selby. He reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, losing 2‍–‍5 to eventual finalist Stuart Bingham. Zhao qualified for the World Snooker Championship for the first time in 2019 but lost 7‍–‍10 to Selby in the first round.

In the 2019‍–‍20 season, Zhao reached the last 16 stage of four ranking events and the quarter-finals of the 2020 German Masters, elevating his world ranking to 29th by the end of the season. Snooker professionals Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Alan McManus have all suggested that Zhao could potentially become a leading player in world snooker due to his enormous potential.

In December 2020, Zhao reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix. After beating Jamie Jones 4‍–‍2 in the first round and John Higgins 4‍–‍3 in the second, he was defeated 3‍–‍5 by Jack Lisowski.

At the 2021 UK Championship, Zhao claimed his first ranking title, defeating Luca Brecel 10‍–‍5 in the final. The win elevated Zhao into the top 16 of the world rankings, at number 9. He qualified for the invitational 2022 Masters for the first time, where he played John Higgins in the first round; he lost 2‍–‍6.

At the 2022 German Masters, he defeated Yan Bingtao 9‍–‍0 in the final to claim his second ranking title. He became only the third player in history, after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson, to win a two-session ranking final by a whitewash. At the 2022 World Snooker Championship, he defeated Jamie Clarke in the first round, but lost in the second round to Stephen Maguire.

In January 2023 by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), suspended Zhao as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players.

On 6 June 2023, the independent disciplinary commission ruled that: "Zhao XT, alone among the Respondent players, did not himself fix any match. His involvement was limited to placing bets for Yan [Bingtao] through Li [Hang], whereby he became liable as a party to the two match fixes. He is good friends with Yan, whom he has known since the age of 16. He attempted to dissuade Yan from match fixing on both occasions with no success. He felt he had no other option but to place the bets for Yan, as Yan had requested. He has shown genuine remorse for his actions." The matches involved were Yan Bingtao vs Ricky Walden in March 2022 Welsh Open and Yan vs Oliver Lines in March 2022 Turkish Masters.

The commission noted the circumstances contributing to Zhao's actions, writing, "The Respondents who were based in Sheffield lived together or in close proximity to each other and were heavily reliant on each other socially and financially. [...] During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Respondents were not able to return to their native China. Many of them felt lonely, bored and even more isolated in the UK during this time. Many of them also suffered on a continuing basis from financial difficulties, exacerbated by the pressures of living costs in the UK, the expenses of travelling to compete in snooker tournaments abroad and ill-judged gambling and betting habits. This set of circumstances made the youngsters among the Respondents particularly susceptible to influence and manipulation from the older Chinese snooker players, who took them under their wing. They were accorded respect by the youngsters, who looked to them for advice and guidance." The older players referred to are Liang Wenbo and Li Hang.

Zhao was banned for 30 months and ordered to pay £7,500 in costs, but the WPBSA reduced the ban to 20 months because of Zhao's early admissions and his guilty plea. The Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) upheld the original 30-month ban. WPBSA regulations state that players need to be in "good standing" with their national federation to compete on the World Snooker Tour. However, the chair of the WPBSA, Jason Ferguson, confirmed that Zhao's 30-month ban would apply only to events sanctioned and governed by the CBSA. He was therefore eligible to enter the 2024‍–‍25 Q Tour after 1 September 2024 (the date on which the WPBSA ban expired), as well as any other amateur competition not sanctioned by the CBSA.

After his suspension from the professional tour ended on 1 September 2024, Zhao competed on the amateur Q Tour in the hope of regaining professional status; his first competitive match was at Q Tour Event 2 in Sofia later that month. In October 2024, he won Q Tour Event 3 in Stockholm; in the final frame of his 4‍–‍1 win over Shaun Liu in the round of 64, Zhao became the first player to make a maximum break on the Q Tour. He won Q Tour Event 4 in Manchester on 10 November, defeating Ryan Davies 4‍–‍2 in the final. On his run to the trophy, he made another maximum break in his 4‍–‍1 quarter-final win over Oliver Sykes, as well as three centuries in defeating Craig Steadman 4‍–‍1 in the semi-finals.

On 5 November 2024, WPBSA and WST announced that Zhao would be invited to play in the UK Championship (an event he had won in 2021) as a WPBSA qualifier, on account of his win in Event 3 on the Q Tour. He won four qualifying matches to progress to the main stage of the UK Championship but was then eliminated 5‍–‍6 by Shaun Murphy in the first round.

Zhao won Q Tour Event 5 in Vienna on 15 December 2024, and Q Tour Event 6 in Mons, Belgium, on 12 January 2025, defeating Australian Ryan Thomerson 4‍–‍2 and Iran's Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 4‍–‍1 in the finals, respectively, thereby winning four straight events and 32 consecutive matches on the Q Tour. His performance in Event 6 guaranteed his place at the top of the Q Tour Europe rankings list, securing him a new two-year tour card for the 2025‍–‍26 season. Topping the Q Tour Europe rankings list also guaranteed Zhao a spot in the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifying draw.

He successfully qualified for the World Championship by winning four qualifying matches, only the third amateur-ranked player ever to reach the main stage of the tournament. He defeated Jak Jones 10‍–‍4, Lei Peifan 13‍–‍10 and Chris Wakelin 13‍–‍5 to reach the semi-finals, where he beat seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 17‍–‍7 with a session to spare. He then defeated Mark Williams 18‍–‍12 in the final to win his first world title. Zhao became the first Chinese player, the first Asian player, and the first amateur to win the World Championship. As a result of winning the title, Zhao attained professional status on the basis of ranking points attained during the season, entering the world snooker rankings at number 11. The tour card Zhao had attained by topping the Q Tour Europe rankings was awarded to Dylan Emery, who had finished second in those rankings. Zhao finished the 2024‍–‍25 season having played 49 matches since returning to competition, winning 47 of them. He is prohibited from entering events in mainland China until July 2025, as his original 30-month ban from competition was upheld by the CBSA.

• Zhao Xintong at the World Snooker Tour (archived)
• Zhao Xintong at snooker.org