World champion Zhao makes fine start to UK campaign

With a dominant first-round victory over fellow compatriot Long Zehuang, reigning world champion Zhao Xintong had a strong start to his UK Championship campaign.

In May, Zhao, 28, defeated Mark Williams 18-12 in the Crucible final to become the first Chinese player to win the World Championship in snooker.

Zhao made breaks of 107, 68, 51, 59, 52, and 72 on day three at the York Barbican, making 6-1 of Long, a 28-year-old UK debutant.

Long, who is 54th overall in the world rankings, battled through three qualifying rounds to reach York and was unable to hold back Zhao’s 6-0 defeat.

After declaring his intention to play snooker in the world of snooker in 2021 by defeating Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final in York, Zhao experienced a rollercoaster.

Zhao was then one of the ten Chinese players who received a corruption ban.

Zhao did not directly play the game; instead, he was initially given a two-and-a-half year suspension that was later reduced to a year and eight months. He accepted the accusations that he had personally cheated on matches with other players and had been a party to them.

He made history as the first Chinese world champion to win the tournament after winning the UK Championship last year and then a sensational nine-match run from the first qualifying round of the World Championship to the Crucible final.

Zhao described how his life had changed since his victory over Long.

You need to do more, he said, “but I’m trying to learn, and now being a world champion is very different.” I’m learning to enjoy the table and enjoy winning any match because it’s a lot of pressure, which is a big problem for me.

I’m trying to get the balance right and trying to get better because this is my first time being famous and I’m very busy. This is not entirely true, in my opinion!

Zhao hopes to make another extended run to York Barbican, a place that will always be near his heart.

He continued, “I have good memories here because this was my first championship; Barbican is my lucky location, so I enjoyed that today.” I’ve only just begun, and I’ve not yet finished, so I can improve in every way in the future.

Zhao revealed that his family was so agitated they couldn’t watch his World Championship final, but that he is also the one who gets the nerves when he plays.

They turned off their phones and went on a city walk because the pressure was great, Zhao said. They called three hours later to get the message that he was the world champion because they did not want to look at the TV.

They gave me a big hug when I returned home. It was my first hug in 20 years, and I thought it was wonderful.

The top 12 Chinese players compete in the UK Championship, which is the highest total at a Triple Crown event, and at least five of them are in the final 16. Zhao hopes that Ding Junhui’s success in the China Open will inspire other players, just like he did Ding Junhui, who won the same tournament in 2005.

Zhao added, “It’s very good for Chinese players and Chinese snooker is very strong right now.” Everyone gains confidence and strength because I won the World Championship, which also helps them.