Within minutes of becoming China’s trailblazing world snooker champion, Zhao Xintong was draped in his country’s flag as he started to take in the enormity of his achievement.
Zhao defeated three-time winner Mark Williams 18-12 on Monday to become the first Asian player and amateur to triumph at the Crucible.
Williams called the 28-year-old a “superstar”, and Jason Ferguson – chairman of the sport’s governing body – said Zhao was set to take snooker “to another level”.
“We are talking about a national hero – he has entered the history books of this sport and in China he will probably be one of the biggest stars there, ” Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) told BBC Sport.
“Snooker is so big in China. He is young, talented and entertaining and speaks both English and Mandarin. This is going to take snooker to another level.
“China loves its heroes and winners. Some countries back underdogs but in China they really celebrate their champions. He has the ability to become the most popular sporting star in the country.”
The 28-year-old also became only the third qualifier after Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy to capture snooker’s biggest prize since the tournament moved to Sheffield in 1977.
His achievement is all the more extraordinary given he only returned from a 20-month suspension earlier this season after being one of 10 players from China sanctioned in a match-fixing scandal.
However, he carried over the scintillating form he has shown all season on the amateur Q Tour and remarkably became the first player to come through four qualifying matches and then lift the trophy at snooker’s most famous venue.
After the final Williams said: “I’m glad I’ll be too old when he’s dominating the game. I’ve got nothing but admiration for what he’s done, coming through the qualifiers. He hasn’t played for two years, bashed everybody up. There’s a new superstar of the game.”
Zhao’s success completes a double for the country, which has more than 300,000 snooker clubs for its population of 1.4 billion.
Bai Yulu was the first Chinese winner of the women’s world championship in 2024 and will defend her title in her homeland this month.
May Zhao, who is in Sheffield to report for the International Sport Press Association, added: “Zhao’s victory is not only a personal triumph but also a historic breakthrough for Chinese snooker.
“I think he will be given a huge reception when he returns to the country and this win is sure to inspire the younger generation in China and drive the development of the country’s training system and structure.
“It has the potential to reshape the commercial landscape of the game. He is not just a champion – he is a trailblazer for a new era of Chinese snooker.”
