The 2022 Snooker Season Finale World Championships have received a lot of attention, with the thirty-two players who have been shortlisted for the main stage going to decide the winner of the final £500,000 championship prize money in a half-month-long showdown.
For the Chinese snooker legion, a total of four people in the main tournament of this World Championship have obtained tickets, namely Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, Ding Junhui and Lu Haotian, of which Zhao Xintong's first round of the showdown has taken the lead in a 10-2 victory, and the outstanding performance is also surprising to domestic fans.
Although the overall strength of the opponent Clark in the first round is not strong, the fans who witnessed the game should know that the confident Zhao Xintong is back, compared with the indecisive Zhao Xintong of the previous tournaments, zhao Xintong has a new mentality in both states.
After a series of consecutive rounds of the first few tournaments, the outside world has questioned the young player, and some fans said that O'Sullivan's guidance made Zhao Xintong a "four unlike" offensive and defensive ends that are not even as good as in the past, but Zhao Xintong used his performance in the first round to punch the doubters in the face.
Objectively speaking, there are still many problems in Zhao Xintong's defense through the first round of matches, or it can be said that there are almost no defenses as long as there is an opportunity to attack, but Zhao Xintong is relying on his super accuracy to "baffle" Clark, so that in the second stage Clark also tried to attack Zhao Xintong.
Of course, not only the accuracy is back, Zhao Xintong's mother ball control success rate is also much better than before, excellent ball control made the "billiards emperor" Stephen Hendry is also greatly appreciated, after the first round, Hendry and Davis gave the junior a very high evaluation in the show.
Hendry said: Zhao Xintong's game is too beautiful, he belongs to Crucible, Crucible also needs such a player, his progress is very big mother ball control has also been greatly improved, I have never seen a player can be so relaxed on the stage of the World Championships, I can't believe that he won the ranking championship at the age of 24, he will be the future snooker superstar.
Of course, in addition to Hendry's praise, Zhao Xintong's instructor Ronnie O'Sullivan also appreciated his apprentice, and has publicly expressed his praise for Zhao Xintong more than once, and after the first round, O'Sullivan unreservedly expressed his expectations for Zhao Xintong.
O'Sullivan said: "I really enjoy the time I spend training with Zhao Xintong, and I am helping him as much as possible. Snooker needs another saboteur after we "old guys" retire, and Zhao Xintong is this player, he really plays and is the way I like to see.
I have to say that O'Sullivan really likes us, a young Chinese general, and Zhao Xintong also cherishes the current mentor-apprentice relationship with O'Sullivan, according to the previous interview with Zhao Xintong, the two of them have agreed to go to shabu-shabu together at the end of the World Championships.
I have to say that Zhao Xintong has become a "fragrant feast" in the eyes of many top stars this season, and it is interesting that Zhao Xintong and O'Sullivan are in the same half of the world championships, which means that the two have a great chance to meet in advance, and I believe that this "master-apprentice war" is also what many fans are looking forward to.