Make history! The 24-year-old Zhao Xintong won the British Championship and became the first "post-90s" champion of the three major competitions of Snooker

Source: Global Times

[Global Times special correspondent in the United Kingdom Zhao Xuemei Li Jiayin] "After winning the championship, the first person who wanted to call my parents, they watched my game in China every day..." On the evening of the 5th local time in the United Kingdom, the Global Times reporter witnessed the birth of China's new "brother" of snooker at the final of the snooker Championship held in York: China's Zhao Xintong defeated Belgian Luka Brechel 10:5 to win the first championship in the individual ranking competition. In addition to raising Zhao Xintong's personal ranking to no. 9 in the world, this victory means more for Chinese billiards and the entire snooker community: Zhao Xintong became the first "post-90s" player to win three snooker competitions (World Championship, Masters and British Championship), and the third Chinese player to win the snooker three championships after Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao.

Zhao Xintong Image source Visual China

However, these records are just the beginning for Zhao Xintong, who was born in 1997. As he said on his personal social platform after winning the championship, "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." ”

"I want to sing to celebrate"

On this trip to the British Championship, Zhao Xintong passed all the way: defeated Yuan Sijun in the first round of the "China Derby", picked out thai king Ta chaiya in the second round, then defeated the "wizard" Higgins 6:5, won the veteran Peter Lanes in the fourth round, won 6 consecutive sets in the quarterfinals to reverse Lisowski, and defeated the veteran Hawkins 6:1 in a confrontation in the semifinals. In the final, facing the same outstanding "post-90s" Brechel, Zhao Xintong still performed well, scoring a 120 point and a six-shot 50+, with an aggregate score of 10:5. "It's amazing that he played just as well from start to finish," Brechel said of his opponents after the game, "He (Zhao Xintong) is only 24 years old, and now he is in the top 10 in the world, he will be in this position for the rest of his life, it's as simple as that." ”

"Along the way, I have been pinned high hopes on, but I have also fallen in front of opportunities many times." Born in 1997, Zhao Xintong has specialized in billiards since 2009, won the runner-up of the youth group of the 2010 Youth Championship and the champion of the Shenzhen Open, and further improved himself: in 2018, he reached the top four of the ranking tournament for the first time, in 2019 he qualified for the first time in the world championship, and in 2020, the world ranking rose to 28th... Only one champion is owed.

"Today was the most memorable event of my life because I won the ranking for the first time!" After winning the championship, Zhao Xintong wanted to go to KTV to sing karaoke to celebrate, "singing the song "We Are champions".

Federer of snooker

When Zhao Xintong was 15 years old, he played at the World Snooker Academy, Jason Ferguson, president of the World Taiwan Federation, noticed this "extremely talented snooker player". After Zhao Xintong won the championship, Jason Ferguson told the Global Times reporter after the game, "I know that his Chinese fans will be very excited, and this young boy will make the audience's blood boil." In Jason Ferguson's view, Zhao Xintong showed ideological maturity and a strong heart at this British Championship. BBC snooker expert John Parrow commented: "Zhao Xintong's hand feels delicate and can also show explosive power when needed. Three-time world champion Mark Williams said on social platforms, "When Zhao Xintong was 8 or 9 years old, I played an exhibition match with him in China, he hit two hundred, and since then I will talk to everyone about him and wish Zhao Xintong good luck." ”

O'Sullivan was even more praised by Zhao Xintong, calling him "Roger Federer of us (snooker)." Zhao Xintong is also very grateful for the guidance of this senior: "He shared a lot with me and told me that there are still many areas that need to be strengthened. ”

"Chinese players have the strength to break the monopoly of the British"

According to the BBC, "In 2005, 18-year-old Ding Junhui became the first Chinese player to win the British Championship. Since then, China's snooker movement has been looking forward to the emergence of new champions. Zhao Xintong not only achieved such a goal, his name has also been circulating in the snooker community for more than 10 years. The Associated Press said that for a long time, China's snooker has been considered to have the power to break the monopoly of the British. In addition to Zhao Xintong, another talented young player in China, Yan Bingtao, won the Masters in January. Before that, no Chinese player had ever won the World Snooker Championship – three-time British Champion Ding Junhui had finished runner-up at the World Championships in 2016. Zhao Xintong's performance at the British Championship gave China snooker a new hope, and six-time world champion Steve Davis said of Zhao Xintong: "He is qualified to become the first Chinese world champion. ”

On the 6th, the Chinese Billiards Association congratulated Zhao Xintong on winning the championship, and also hoped that Chinese players would continue to work hard and achieve good results. Zhou Yuelong, Tian Pengfei, Xiao Guodong and other Chinese players also congratulated Zhao Xintong. The British Championship winner allowed Zhao Xintong to receive a prize of £200,000 and lock in a ticket to the Masters early next year, which he will face Higgins in the first round. Zhao Xintong told the Global Times reporter, "Although Hui Ge (Ding Junhui) has also won the British Championship, I think this time it may be helpful to Chinese billiards in terms of young people, and I hope that more young players will participate in professional competitions in the future." ”