Zhao closes in on historic victory over Williams in Crucible final

Zhao Xintong is just one frame away from becoming the first player from China to win the World Championship after extending his lead to 17-8 over Mark Williams in the final.

The 28-year-old, who is aiming to become the first amateur to triumph at the Crucible, led 11-6 overnight and was able to take three of the first four frames available on Monday to go 14-7 ahead at the mid-session interval.

And when he compiled a break of 52 to win the next, Zhao looked on course to win his second successive match with a session to spare and would record the biggest winning margin in a world final since Stephen Hendry defeated Jimmy White 18-5 in 1993.

Three-time winner Williams averted that possibility, briefly rallying to ensure the contest would at least extend to Monday evening with a break of 66 to get back to 15-8.

However, the Welshman, 50, who is the oldest ever finalist in Sheffield, was unable to make any further inroads.

His Chinese opponent, who was just three years-old when Williams won his first world crown in 2000, capitalised on a missed red to the left middle with a 66 break and cleared up again after Williams failed to drop in a red to the right corner to move on to the brink of a historic victory.

Zhao, who won the UK Championship in 2021 but then served a 20-month ban for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal which rocked the sport, is hoping to join Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy as the only qualifiers to capture snooker’s biggest prize since the tournament’s 1977 move to Sheffield.

He would also earn the £500, 000 top prize and climb to 11th in the world rankings when he returns to the main professional tour next season.