The 2025 Snooker World Championship will be crowned the king, "that Zhao Xintong is still alive back then"

The 28-year-old Chinese player Zhao Xintong rose from the qualifying round in the 2025 World Snooker Championship and won nine consecutive games before becoming the first world champion from Asia in history. Back two years ago, Zhao Xintong was involved in a match-fixing case that shocked the football world, he pleaded guilty to two charges, and was banned for 20 months by the World Professional Snooker Federation in June 2023. Zhao Xintong ended his ban in September last year and returned to the snooker stage, taking only 7 months to get rid of the low ebb of his career and set foot on the top of the world.

Zhao Xintong shared the joy of winning the championship with his family at the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship

In October 2022, the World Professional Snooker Federation announced the suspension of Liang Wenbo, breaking out the match-fixing case of Chinese players that shook the snooker world. After more than half a year of investigation, the World Professional Snooker Federation announced the verdict in June 2023 and punished a total of 10 Chinese players, including Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, who were emerging at the time.

According to the statement of the World Professional Snooker Association, Zhao Xintong was banned for 2 and a half years, considering that he pleaded guilty to two charges in the early stage and did not directly play match-fixing, the sentence was reduced to 1 year and 8 months, which is the shortest sentence among the penalty players.

Zhao Xintong, who returned after a suspension in September last year, is now the new champion of the World Championships

Born in Xi'an, he settled in Guangdong with his parents, Zhao Xintong, who first came into contact with snooker at the age of 8, began to emerge at the age of 15, with outstanding results in amateur and youth competitions, and officially became a professional snooker player in 2016. Zhao Xintong's record has risen steadily, dominating the All England Championship in 2021, and the future is promising, but Zhao Xintong's career has become uncertain due to the match-fixing case.

"Since the ban, I have been annoyed by my ignorance and stupidity, and I am ashamed and guilty of the mistakes I made that disappointed everyone.... I have lived up to the trust of the fans in me and disgraced Chinese snooker. Zhao Xintong was banned from the game, and then issued an apology statement, saying that because he lived alone overseas, he chose to gamble to pass the time, which was the most wrong choice, he stressed that he had never controlled the game, and did not muster up the courage to say no to his good friends, and was finally involved in the match-fixing case.

This World Championships has passed all the way, and Zhao Xintong just wants to prove: "That Zhao Xintong is still alive back then." ”

"It's like the sky is falling.... "Zhao Xintong was banned during the rising stage, and no matter how much he regrets it, he still needs to fulfill the ban period. Even if Zhao Xintong can't compete, he said that he also maintains 8 hours of training every day, hoping to maintain his condition and make a strong comeback.

In September 2024, Zhao Xintong's suspension expired, and he could only participate in the amateur Q Tour because of the loss of ranking, Zhao Xintong recorded a 32-match winning streak, hit a perfect 147 twice, and won four titles. Until this year's World Snooker Championship, Zhao Xintong still had to qualify for the promotion, he remained strong and passed, he just wanted to prove: "That Zhao Xintong is still alive back then." ”

Zhao Xintong won 9 games in a row, fellow villager Lei Peifan, O'Sullivan of "5 Three Heroes" 7, Mark Williams are all defeated under him, from suspension to the first Chinese snooker world champion in history, Zhao Xintong only spent 7 months, "I feel unbelievable, I'm like I'm dreaming.... ”

After the expiration of the ban, Zhao Xintong performed strongly

In 2016, Ding Junhui was the first Chinese player to reach the final of the World Championships, but at that time, he lost to Selby and was the runner-up, and it is no longer impossible for Chinese players to dominate the world. In recent years, more and more Chinese golfers have emerged, and even if there was a match-fixing case earlier, many golfers thought that it was only a matter of time before a Chinese golfer became a world champion, and now it has finally been done by Zhao Xintong.

"As a player, it's not only about playing well, but more importantly, about being a person with good thinking and moral character, so that I can prove myself with my results and return to the game with a better image." Zhao Xintong's apology statement on the day ended like this, Zhao Xintong did speak with his achievements, got rid of the low tide, and climbed to the top of the world.