Higgins trails O’Connor 5-4 after opening session at World Championship

Halo World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 May

Zhao Xintong wrapped up a comfortable 10-4 victory over Jak Jones to knock the 2024 runner-up out of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Both of last year’s finalists have exited the 2025 event in the first round, following defending champion Kyren Wilson’s defeat by Lei Peifan on Saturday.

Zhao will meet fellow Chinese player Lei in his next match for a place in the quarter-finals.

Trailing 7-2 overnight, Jones started the second session with a break of exactly 100.

He reduced his deficit further when Zhao missed a simple brown during what appeared to be a routine clearance that would have restored the 28-year-old’s five-frame advantage.

Meanwhile, four-time champion John Higgins trails Joe O’Connor 5-4, with their first-round match being played to a conclusion from 19:00 BST.

English qualifier O’Connor got 12 reds and 12 blacks into a maximum attempt in frame seven, but landed awkwardly on the 13th red and had to settle for a break of 96 to take the lead in the match for the first time.

Zhao is competing as an amateur in his first World Championship appearance since 2022, having completed a 20-month suspension earlier this season.

The former UK Championship winner was one of 10 Chinese players banned following an investigation into match-fixing. He did not directly throw a match, but accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches, and betting on matches himself.

Zhao has earned a place back among the professional ranks next season courtesy of his performances on the Q Tour, and is considered among the contenders to win in Sheffield.

He told BBC Sport that he felt he “played really well” during the match and Jones believes he will be “hard to stop” as he aims to become the first Chinese player to win the world title.

“Zhao looked really sharp, the qualifiers have done him good, and I’ve had two best-of-sevens in the past 10 weeks or so,” said the 31-year-old.

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