Zhao Xintong tipped for World Championship glory following snooker ban

11/12/2024 11:04 AM

Zhao Xintong has returned from his ban for his part in snooker’s match-fixing scandal and is already being tipped for World Championship glory.

The 27-year-old is back playing on the amateur circuit after his ban from the sport came to an end in September.

The former UK Championship and German Masters winner was found guilty of being party to another player fixing two matches and betting on snooker matches himself.

Zhao was given a 20-month ban and while he was out of the sport he fell off the professional circuit, but has returned to the amateur game in some style.

He has won two of the three Q Tour events that he has played in and has made two 147 breaks in the process. No other player has ever made a maximum in a Q Tour event.

As a Q Tour winner Zhao has earned a place in UK Championship qualifying this month, meaning he will play his first game in a professional event since his ban.

Former Masters champion Alan McManus believes Zhao is clearly one of the best in the world and whoever he plays at the upcoming qualifiers will not relish it.

‘I suppose whoever he draws in the UK Championship you can have a little bit of sympathy, but that’s not his problem,’ McManus said on his Snooker Breakfast podcast. ‘He’s an amateur in status at the moment, he’s an amateur player. But the fact is he’s one of the best players in the game, theres no doubt about that.

‘I for one am pleased that he’s been able to get back grafting. There are players around these days and down the years who don’t put the graft in and if you don’t you’re going to get found out in this game. I’m happy to see him playing how I know he can.’

McManus is a huge fan of Zhao’s game, a player who climbed as high as number six in the world rankings in 2022, and the Scot reckons he can go even higher than that.

Angles believes that if anyone can win multiple World Championships from this date onwards then it is Zhao.

‘One of the reasons I want him to come back and reignite his career to what it should have been…Let’s forget who’s won the World Championship before today and think about who would be the most likely multiple winner of the World Championship from this day forward,’ mused McManus.

‘I actually think Zhao Xintong might be that guy, someone like him, maybe Si Jiahui might be another one you could possibly tip for that. But that’s how highly rated Xintong is.’

Former world champion Shaun Murphy has also been thoroughly impressed by Zhao’s return to the game, saying on his onefourseven podcast: ‘Someone needs to tell Xintong that he doesn’t have to make 147s every week!

‘Just a wonderful, wonderful player. I can hear people as they’re listening to this saying he was banned and shouldn’t be back playing. There was never any accusation that Xintong lost any matches on purpose or that he cheated. He’s served his time and he comes back.’

UK Championship qualifying starts on Saturday 16 November with the draw and schedule to be announced soon.