05/04/25 04:31:00
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05/04 16:30 CDT Zhao Xintong leads 11-6 in final of snooker worlds in bid to
become first winner from China
Zhao Xintong leads 11-6 in final of snooker worlds in bid to become first
winner from China
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
China is edging closer to having its first world snooker champion after Zhao
Xintong established an 11-6 lead over Mark Williams at the halfway point of the
final at the Crucible Theatre on Sunday.
Zhao needs to get to 18 frames to claim the sport's biggest prize, with the
remaining two sessions scheduled for Monday.
The 28-year-old Zhao, a slick left-hander who thrashed seven-time champion
Ronnie O'Sullivan 17-7 in the semifinals, was in complete control at 7-1 up
after the opening session against Williams --- another great of the game who,
at age 50, is bidding to become the oldest world champion.
Williams won five of the nine frames in the evening session, including a
crucial final frame, to reduce his arrears but Zhao was still in a great
position to become just the third player in history to win the worlds after
coming through qualification.
Zhao is playing as an amateur in Sheffield, England, having only recently
returned to competitive action following a 20-month ban for his role in the
sport's biggest match-fixing scandal. He was ranked No. 9 in the world when his
suspension began after accepting charges of being a party to another player
fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.
Zhao, the winner of the prestigious U.K. Championship in 2021, has been free to
play since his ban expired in September and, in January, secured a return to
snooker's main professional tour for next season.
The only other Chinese player to have reached the final of the worlds is Ding
Junhui, who in 2016 lost to Mark Selby 18-14. Ding is the trailblazer for a
raft of Chinese players --- one of them being Zhao --- to have burst through,
making snooker huge in their homeland.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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