Match-fixing scandal to Crucible champion - fall and rise of Zhao

Zhao Xintong began this play suspended from snooker aft a match-fixing ungraded but is tipped to beryllium nan sport's caller "megastar" aft becoming nan first Chinese subordinate to triumph nan World Championship.

The 28-year-old, who lives conscionable a 10-minute locomotion from nan Crucible Theatre venue successful Sheffield, joined Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy arsenic nan only qualifiers to onshore snooker's biggest prize since nan tournament's 1977 move to South Yorkshire.

His 18-12 triumph complete Mark Williams connected Monday intends he is besides nan only amateur to declare nan world title successful nan Crucible era, and nan youngest victor since Murphy successful 2005.

Zhao, who hails from Xi'an successful northbound cardinal China, moved to nan UK successful 2016 and was appearing successful nan 3rd ranking-event last of his career.

"Winning nan title is nan large dream for Chinese snooker," said Zhao, anterior to facing three-time victor Mark Williams successful nan final.

"When I was 8 to 10 years aged it was my first clip to play snooker and from that infinitesimal it has been really acold [to get to this point]. If you want to go a bully subordinate you request to do this [move distant from home], moreover though it is very hard."

He won nan UK Championship successful 2021 and nan German Masters successful 2022, but his burgeoning profession was abruptly stopped erstwhile he was 1 of 10 players from China sanctioned successful 2023 pursuing an investigation into match-fixing.

Zhao did not straight propulsion a match, but he accepted charges of being statement to different subordinate fixing 2 matches and betting connected matches himself, and for those offences he received a 20-month ban.

He returned to action successful September connected nan amateur Q Tour and has won events successful Manchester, Sweden, Austria and Belgium, while he besides qualified for nan UK Championship but mislaid to Shaun Murphy successful nan first round.

At nan World Championship, Zhao had to beforehand done 4 qualifying rounds and past get past 2024 Crucible finalist Jak Jones, Lei Peifan and Chris Wakelin to scope nan semi-finals.

Zhao, nicknamed 'The Cyclone', swept seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan speech with a convention to spare successful nan past four, to grounds his 46th triumph successful 48 matches since returning from his ban.

As a consequence of his suspension, Zhao mislaid his spot connected nan World Snooker Tour (WST) and his master status, though he has secured his paper to return to nan elite circuit adjacent term.

The match-fixing lawsuit formed a protector complete nan athletics successful China.

A world last delivered an almost contiguous changeable astatine redemption pursuing what Jason Ferguson - president of governing assemblage nan World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) - described arsenic a "heartbreaking" section that besides progressive erstwhile Masters champion Yan Bingtao.

Yet nan quality of that transgression intends immoderate astir nan crippled judge it could spoil nan celebrations of a long-awaited Asian world champion.

"Zhao's prohibition has been served and he is perfectly entitled to beryllium competing again, but I've recovered nan flowery connection since his return somewhat befuddling fixed nan circumstances," said snooker journalist Nick Metcalfe.

"I was successful York nan nighttime he picked up nan UK title and nan announcer shouted nan words: 'A prima is born.'

"So this is not immoderate newcomer to nan snooker public. It honestly feels astatine times for illustration praise has taken nan spot of scrutiny. I'm besides not convinced nan timing is perfect for nan athletics by Zhao winning nan world title now.

"Coming truthful soon aft nan ban, immoderate of nan headlines - surely from extracurricular nan snooker bubble - mightiness good beryllium nan past point nan athletics needs.

"We each presumed that a first Chinese world champion would beryllium a typical infinitesimal for everyone successful nan game, almost a infinitesimal of unalloyed joy, but I'm judge that won't beryllium nan lawsuit now."

In contrast, Barry Hearn, president of Matchroom Sport which controls overmuch of nan master game, said: "He has served a prohibition for what immoderate group would telephone a very insignificant offence.

"He's a value subordinate and I deliberation he's a bully young man. Rules are rules and you return it connected nan chin. If you make a correction successful life, you don't look back, you look forward.

"When you've paid a value for thing nan slate's clear, different you person nary life forever."

Since nan move of nan century, location has been a British victor astatine nan Crucible successful each twelvemonth isolated from 2010 and 2023, erstwhile Australia's Neil Robertson and Belgium's Luca Brecel lifted nan trophy.

But snooker's fame successful China has boomed ever since a awkward Ding Junhui defeated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry to triumph nan 2005 China Open, 2 days aft his 18th birthday.

That brushwood was watched by a reported tv assemblage of 110 cardinal group successful nan country, and since past nan nation's hopes of a first world champion person mostly rested connected nan shoulders of Ding, who was runner-up to Mark Selby successful 2016.

Speaking aft his semi-final loss, O'Sullivan stressed that successful Zhao, China yet had a subordinate pinch nan talent and temperament to fulfil that ambition.

"I deliberation it would beryllium amazing. If he did win, he would beryllium a megastar," said O'Sullivan.

"He's still very large successful China arsenic it is. But if he becomes world champion it would conscionable beryllium astonishing for snooker and for his life arsenic well. He tin decidedly get complete nan line."

The World Championship last was disposable to each TV family successful China connected CCTV5, and World Snooker expected a imaginable assemblage of up to 150 million.

China is snooker's biggest marketplace successful nan tv landscape, making up much than 50% of its world audience.

John Parrott, who won astatine nan Crucible successful 1991, said: "We person been talking astir it for years and years.

"Ding has been adjacent and a existent ambassador for China, but conscionable ideate what Zhao will do for nan crippled complete there.

"It has been a phenomenal achievement. He is brilliantly talented. There does not look to beryllium immoderate fatigue involved. He is conscionable waltzing astir nan table. He is almost for illustration a shade - he floats astir nan spot and looks very akin to Jimmy White successful his younger days."