Chinese snooker star Zhao Xintong hailed as future world champion after winning major UK title
- Zhao beat Belgium’s Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final to claim first ranking title of his career
- Victory in UK Championship means two of sports Triple Crown titles now held by Chinese snooker players
China’s Zhao Xintong has been hailed as a future world champion after he beat Luca Brecel 10-5 to clinch snooker’s UK Championship crown in York on Monday (Hong Kong time).
Zhao’s 10-5 victory against his Belgium opponent was the first ranking title of his career, and the manner of his win at the York Barbican has made the snooker world sit up and take notice.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis said the 24-year-old, who broke into the elite top 16 as a result of his win, could use the triumph “as a springboard” to greater things.
“He’s got the credentials to be the first Chinese world champion,” Davis said. “Everyone thought it might be Ding Junhui, but who is to say Zhao won’t be the one to do it?”
China has long been viewed as the country that will break Britain’s stranglehold on the table sport and another of its talented young players, Yao Bingtao, won the Masters in January. Zhao’s win means two of the sport’s Triple Crown titles are held by Chinese players.
