China's famous player saved 2 match points in a row and still lost! Zhao Xintong praised his opponent and did not have the opportunity to play against O'Sullivan. In the second round of the 2022 World Snooker Championships, China's famous Zhao Xintong played against Maguire, although Zhao Xintong showed a very good state in the third stage, but helplessly the first two stages fell behind too much, and finally Zhao Xintong lost 9-13, missing the top 8, 1/4 final Maguire will play against O'Sullivan, which is also a big regret for Zhao Xintong, no chance to play against the idol.
This season, Zhao Xintong's performance is still very outstanding, can be described as cashing in talent, has won the British Championship and the German Masters two large ranking championships, the world ranking also entered the top 10, becoming the world's top players. This World Championship, Zhao Xintong directly won the main event as the No. 7 seeded player, which is also the first time since Zhao Xintong's career to participate in the World Championship as a seeded player, the first round against qualifier Jamie Clark, Zhao Xintong blasted out two breakers and 6 strokes 50+, easily won 10-2, but the opponent in the second round Maguire is not so easy to deal with. This article is original by Xiao Lizi, please do not copy or port. Although Maguire's world ranking is far behind Zhao Xintong, his own strength is not weak, and defeating seeded player Murphy in the first round can prove that he has the strength of seeded players, so before the game, the outside world believes that Zhao Xintong will encounter a bitter battle.
The second round used a 25-inning 13-win system, divided into three stages, in the first stage of the game, Zhao Xintong blasted out a single shot 136 points, 86 points, 72 points, but Maguire's state is also very good, bombing out a single shot 102 points, 107 points, 80 points, 65 points, to lead 5-3 on aggregate. In the second stage of the game, Zhao Xintong's state appeared up and down, only a shot of 72 points, while Maguire still maintained a fiery feel, bombed out three shots of 60+, and the second stage directly played 6-2, with a total score of 11-5. For Zhao Xintong, the third stage of the game can only be completed by playing 8-1, otherwise it will be out early, in the 17th round, Zhao Xintong withstood the pressure and won 82-24, in the 18th set, Zhao Xintong played a single 85-point clean sheet against the opponent, chasing the total score to 7-11.
In the 19th set, Zhao Xintong made a mistake in the attack, and Maguire seized the opportunity to score a single shot of 81 points to take the lead in the match point with an aggregate score of 12-7. Zhao Xintong, who had no way back, saved two match points in a row 67-0, 70-7, but in the 22nd set, Zhao Xintong made a mistake, and Maguire accurately hit to lock in the victory, thus advancing to the quarterfinals with a total score of 13-9. After the game, Zhao Xintong praised Maguire in an interview for being very strong and experienced, and did not think that he could compete with Maguire, especially in the first two stages, he had almost no chance. From Zhao Xintong's statement, it can be seen that he admits that his strength is not as good as Maguire, fortunately, Zhao Xintong is still very young, and there is still room for improvement in the future.