Ding Junhui was followed by Zhao Xintong, the first "post-90s" champion in the history of snooker's three major competitions

Beijing, December 6, China News Service The 2021 British Championship of Snooker came to an end on the 5th local time, and the 24-year-old Chinese rookie Zhao Xintong defeated Belgian player Brechel 10:5, becoming the first "post-90s" champion in the history of snooker's three major competitions, and the second Chinese player to win the British Championship after Ding Junhui.

This British Championship has been unpopular since the first round, and Robertson, Murphy, Selby, Trump, Williams, O'Sullivan and other famous players have been eliminated. Zhao Xintong narrowly defeated the "wizard" Higgins, who had won four world championships, 6:5 in the third round, defeated Lisowski, who was once known as England's "star of hope" in the quarter-finals, and eliminated the world's tenth-ranked British veteran Hawkins 6:1 in the semifinals, reaching the ranking final for the first time in his career.

In the final, Zhao Xintong was calm and steady, leading 5:3 to end the first stage of the competition, and finally locked up the victory 10:5, becoming the fifth Chinese player to win the ranking championship after Ding Junhui, Fu Jiajun, Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao.

The British Championship of Snooker is one of the oldest tournaments in the World Professional Snooker Competition, together with the Snooker World Championship and the Wembley Masters, which is called the Snooker Triathlon. Previously, Chinese billiards leader Ding Junhui won the British Championship three times in 2005, 2009 and 2019. Today, Zhao Xintong is the second Person in China to win the competition.

After Zhao Xintong won the championship, the world snooker official website praised his winning method as "highlighting his potential", believing that "his single-shot scoring ability, walking level, batting ability and calm temperament are all characteristics of a great champion".

On the morning of the 6th Beijing time, Zhao Xintong posted on his personal social media that after turning into a professional from 2016, his goal was to win the ranking championship.

"Along the way, I have had high hopes, but I have also fallen 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 this championship is my starting star and guides me to continue to bravely move forward." ”

This time, Zhao Xintong not only received a prize of 200,000 pounds, but also his ranking rose to the top ten in the world, qualifying for the 2022 Snooker Masters.

Zhao Xintong said that he will prepare for the Masters next. But before that, he had to go home and get a good night's sleep, "Maybe tomorrow I'll sing karaoke and I'll sing 'We're Champions.'" (End)

Source: China News Network