Zhao Xintong gained the Snooker World Championship title in 2025 to a blended response.
Zhao Xintong is ready start the defence of his World Championship crown (Picture: Tai Chengzhe, VCG by way of Getty Photos) This text accommodates affiliate hyperlinks, we are going to obtain a fee on any gross sales we generate from it. Be taught extra
Zhao Xintong will return to the Crucible on Saturday as he bids to defend the World Snooker Championship crown he claimed in 2025. Whereas Zhao earned reward for changing into China’s maiden snooker world champion together with his 18-12 overcome Mark Williams, scandal has dogged him. He was handed a 20-month ban over a match-fixing controversy in 2023.
The 29-year-old was amongst 10 gamers suspended for his or her involvement within the affair as he accepted costs of wagering on a match he knew had been manipulated. The star acknowledged that he was complicit in one other participant rigging two fixtures on totally different events in March 2022. The match-fixing scandal derailed his profession, forcing him off the skilled tour and onto the Q Tour, an beginner circuit, after his ban concluded in September 2024.
His showings there secured him a spot in World Snooker Championship qualifying as he turned certainly one of 16 qualifiers to hitch the highest 16 ranked gamers globally on the Sheffield venue.
However, World Snooker Tour conceded that their wording may have been improved as fury erupted over Zhao’s rating standing following his success. His victory noticed him climb into the world’s high 16, with the rankings construction based mostly on factors and prize cash, after Zhao banked £500,000.
The official rules detailed in World Snooker Tour’s entry pack state that an beginner’s rating factors “will all the time reset to zero initially of every season”, which prompted bewilderment over how Zhao climbed so excessive, given he was beforehand competing on the beginner Q Tour.
The entry pack said: “WST qualification for season 2025/2026: Prime 64 from Prize Cash Rankings after World Championship 2025. An beginner participant can qualify within the Prime 64 nevertheless their rating factors will all the time reset to zero initially of every season.
Zhao gained the title in 2025 (Picture: Getty Photos)
“That beginner will depend as a Prime 64 participant and the participant ranked 64 would fall exterior of the Prime 64 and fail to qualify. Further tour areas can be introduced in the end. Tour locations are on the sole discretion of WST.”
WST clarified that Zhao would ascend to quantity 11 on this planet rankings, acknowledging that the entry pack inadvertently implies that will not happen. They admitted the language within the pack was unclear.
A press release stated: “The precept clearly established in snooker is that amateurs can earn prize cash and rating factors in the identical means that professionals do, and there are numerous precedents for this. Zhao has earned his high 64 place on advantage, he’ll hold the rankings factors he has earned and if he wins the World Championship he can be seeded second for many occasions subsequent season which once more is a protracted standing precept.
“Our entry pack was agreed with the Gamers Board earlier than the beginning of this season. We settle for that the wording on this specific paragraph may have been clearer, however the rules are unchanged and effectively established.”
Zhao has are available for criticism (Picture: Getty)
Mark Allen spearheaded the outrage amongst gamers, saying: “What is the level in having guidelines/standards should you simply change it after the very fact every time fits? I am baffled how folks cannot see how poor that is.”
World Skilled Billiards and Snooker Affiliation chairman Jason Ferguson described it as a completely unprecedented state of affairs, saying: “It is not really a rule change, it is a state of affairs that is by no means occurred earlier than. Beginner gamers do enter occasions on occasion, from top-ups in varied occasions, and as they arrive in they play in opposition to professionals however they by no means break into the highest 64 as a result of they solely are available for one or two occasions.
“That is the primary time we have seen this the place any person has damaged during, earnt sufficient factors in a season. In that state of affairs the case is that the participant retains these rating factors as a result of the participant is deemed knowledgeable participant and joins the skilled tour by retaining that high 64 place.”
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Zhao will tackle Englishman Liam Highfield, who battled by way of 4 qualifying rounds, when the World Snooker Championship kicks off this weekend. The duo are scheduled to get underway at 10am on Saturday.
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