History Awaits: Zhao Xintong Dominates Mark Williams in Crucible Showdown

Zhao Xintong dominated the opening session of the World Championship final against Mark Williams, constructing a commanding 7-1 lead. This sets him up for a potential historic victory, as he bids to become China’s first world champion and only the third player from outside the UK to win the title since 1997.

Key Moments from the Session

Zhao broke the tone with breaks of 51 and 77 in the opening frame.

He followed up with a century in the second frame and took the third on the black against a struggling Williams.

Williams briefly stopped the rot before the mid-session interval, but lost a tight fifth frame and broke down on 61 in the next.

Zhao’s Road to the Final

Zhao won the UK Championship in 2021 but served a 20-month ban for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. This is his chance to join Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy as the only qualifiers to land snooker’s biggest prize since the tournament’s 1977 move to South Yorkshire.

About Zhao Xintong

Age: 28

Nationality: Chinese

Professional Career: Turned pro in 2013

Notable Achievements

2021 UK Championship winner

2024 World Championship finalist

First Chinese player to reach the World Championship final

Personal Life: Zhao has been open about his struggles with match-fixing and has spoken about the importance of maintaining a clean reputation in the sport.

The Road Ahead

The best-of-35 final resumes at 19:00 BST on Sunday, with the winner earning a top prize of £500,000. Williams will need to mount a significant comeback to rein in a player who has already shown that he can be an impressive frontrunner.