Snooker Federer came Zhao Xintong became the first post-90s three major champions

In the early morning of Beijing time, the British Championship ushered in another Chinese champion. The 24-year-old Zhao Xintong beat Belgian youngster Brechel 10-5 to become the first post-90s player to win the title in snooker's three major competitions. Who is Zhao Xintong? He is O'Sullivan's "Federer of the Snooker World", he is also the most dangerous player on the tour in jimmy White's eyes, and he is also the Chinese dragon who surpasses Ding Junhui in the British media.

The division is famous

Every Chinese who worked the Snooker Tour could not escape a kind of inertia - being compared with Ding Junhui, who was famous for his youth. The phenomenon figure of that year, now 34 years old, Ding Junhui, who has not been able to realize his dream of winning the World Championship, has performed uneventfully in recent years.

Ding Junhui is indeed a reference for Zhao Xintong. Since the age of 15, Zhao Xintong has become famous in China, and he has won the runner-up of the youth group of the 2010 China Youth Championship and the champion of the Shenzhen Open. His father bought him a table early on and encouraged him to embark on a career path. Later, this left-handed player paid homage to Wu Wenzhong, who was the undisputed first coach of China's snooker, and the first batch of Chinese famous players who stayed in britain, including Ding Junhui and Tian Pengfei, had undergone systematic training under his command.

Coming to The Uk, Zhao Xintong's talent quickly attracted everyone's attention, but the slightly immature response in the competition prevented him from getting a real breakthrough. At this Year's British Championship, Zhao Xintong defeated Higgins, Lisowski and Hawkins, three of the world's top 16 players, to reach the ranking final for the first time in his career. The final opponent Brechel, who has played the ranking final for the third time, won the Chinese championship in 2017 and has more experience in controlling the big scene than Zhao Xintong. However, in the final of this British Championship, Brechel was completely suppressed and has been lagging behind, and finally 5-10 was defeated by Zhao Xintong. "He didn't give me much of a chance at all, and with his ability he would always be in the top ten of the world." Snooker legend Jimmy White praised Zhao Xintong in a post-match interview.

I am the champion

He was regarded as a talent at an early age, but he did not win the first ranking championship until he was 24 years old, and on this day, Zhao Xintong waited too long. "I was very happy, it was a particularly exciting evening. The British Championship is snooker's theatre of dreams, and for me it's the most important game, the most important victory. Zhao Xintong smiled brightly, "In the usual training, I know that I can do it, this championship makes me feel that my dream has come true, I will remember this feeling, and take this feeling to participate in future competitions." Now I am more confident. ”

How to celebrate this belated victory, Zhao Xintong said to sleep. "Tomorrow I'm going to sing karaoke, and I'm going to sing the song 'We're Champions.'" Zhao Xintong updated social media for the first time, "After turning into a professional in 2016, my goal has never changed, that is, to win the ranking championship. Along the way, I had high hopes, but I also fell in front of opportunities many times. This time, I stood firm and finally lifted the championship trophy. At the age of 24, I still have a long way to go in my career, and I hope that this championship is my starting star and guides me to continue to bravely move forward. ”

Snooker's official website gave a relatively objective assessment after the game: his offensive ability, the precision of his position, the purity of his shots and his calm temperament are all characteristics of a great champion, although it remains to be seen whether he can win forever, but the success of the British Championship is a major breakthrough for the left-handed player. Does this "Federer" also have the ability to become a generation of kings? Zhao Xintong had to answer with his own club. Chief reporter Hua Xinyi

Numbers speak

1

This is Zhao Xintong's first three major championships (World Championship, British Championship, Masters), and his first ranking champion; Zhao Xintong and final opponent Brechel were ranked outside the world's top sixteen before this competition, which was the first time in the history of the British Championship final.

2

Zhao Xintong became the second Chinese player to win the British Championship after Ding Junhui. Ding Junhui has won the championship three times before.

4

Zhao Xintong became the fourth player to win the snooker ranking Chinese mainland championship after Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao.

9

Zhao Xintong, who ranked 26th in the world before the British Championships, jumped to ninth in the world ranking because he won the cup this morning, and won a place in the Masters next January.

【Related Links】

Three snooker contests

Founded in 1977 and held for 45 years so far, the British Snooker Championship (british championship for short) is known as the three major events of snooker, together with the World Championships and the Masters. At present, Chinese players have not yet won the World Championship, Ding Junhui has won the British Championship and the Masters Championship, it is worth mentioning that the current British Championship and Masters (Yan Bingtao) championship trophies are in the hands of Chinese players.

Source: Xinmin Evening News