Zhao Xintong facts for kids
Zhao at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
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| Born | 3 April 1997 Xi'an, Shaanxi, China |
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| Sport country |  China |
| Professional | 2016–2023, 2025– |
| Highest ranking | 6 (May 2022) |
| Current ranking | 77 (as of 8 May 2018) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 3 |
| World Champion | 2025 |
| Zhao Xintong | |||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 赵心童 | ||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 趙心童 | ||||||||||||
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Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a professional snooker player from China. He is the current World Champion, having won the 2025 World Snooker Championship. He is the first player from Asia to win this important world title.
Zhao became famous as a teenager because many top players noticed his great talent. He joined the professional World Snooker Tour in 2016. He won his first big title at the 2021 UK Championship, beating Luca Brecel. This win helped him get into the top 16 snooker players in the world. He won his second big title at the 2022 German Masters, where he beat Yan Bingtao 9-0. He was only the third player ever to win a two-session final without losing a single game.
In 2023, Zhao was suspended from playing professionally for a while. This was due to an investigation into players not following the rules of the sport. He was not accused of cheating in matches himself. After a review, he was allowed to return to play in September 2024. He then played very well in the Q Tour, winning four events in a row. This helped him get back onto the main professional tour. He even made a perfect "maximum break" twice on the Q Tour.
Even though he was still considered an amateur player at the time, Zhao qualified for the 2024 UK Championship and later the 2025 World Snooker Championship. He won four qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the World Championship. He then beat famous players like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams to win his first world title. This amazing win made him the first Asian and first amateur player to become World Snooker Champion. Because of this, he started the next season ranked 11th in the world.
Zhao's Snooker Journey
Starting Out: Early Life
Zhao Xintong was born in Xi'an, China. Later, his family moved to Shenzhen. He is the only child of Zhao Xiaowei and Wen Anxiao. They both work in a hospital.
Zhao started playing snooker when he was eight years old. He played on tables outside shops near his home. He loved it so much that he convinced his parents to put a snooker table in their house. When his mother asked him what job he would do after university, Zhao said he would "play snooker." That's when his parents decided to fully support his dream.
Playing as an Amateur (2012–2016)
Zhao quickly showed his talent. In 2012, he beat several high-ranked players at the Zhangjiagang Open. He reached the last 16 of that tournament. He also did well in other Asian Tour events.
He became known as a "Wildcard Menace." This meant he was a young player who could beat experienced professionals. For example, he beat former World Champion Ken Doherty in 2012. He also beat six-time World Champion Steve Davis in 2013. Davis was very impressed, saying Zhao was "astonishingly good" and reminded him of a young Ronnie O'Sullivan.
- In 2013, Zhao reached the final of the World Amateur Championship. However, he lost to his fellow countryman Zhou Yuelong.
- He tried to join the main professional tour in 2015. He came very close but lost in the final rounds of the qualifying events.
- Even so, he got to play in some professional events as a "top-up" player. He made a very high break of 142 points in the 2015 International Championship.
- In 2015, he reached the final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship again. He lost, but he still earned a two-year spot on the main professional tour. This was because the winner declined the invitation.
First Years as a Professional (2016–2020)
In 2016, Zhao played against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the English Open. Zhao was leading, but O'Sullivan won the match. O'Sullivan said that Zhao's attacking style reminded him of another great player, Stephen Hendry.
Zhao started reaching the later stages of professional tournaments:
- In 2017, he reached the last 16 of the German Masters.
- In 2018, he reached his first professional semi-final at the China Championship.
- In 2019, he played in the World Snooker Championship for the first time.
- By the end of the 2019-2020 season, his world ranking was 29th. Many snooker experts believed he had huge potential.
Becoming a UK and German Masters Champion (2021–2023)
Zhao had a fantastic year in 2021-2022.
- At the 2021 UK Championship, he won his first major title. He beat Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final. This win moved him into the top 9 players in the world.
- This also meant he qualified for the special 2022 Masters tournament for the first time.
- Just two months later, he won his second big title at the 2022 German Masters. He beat Yan Bingtao 9-0 in the final. This was a rare "whitewash" win, meaning his opponent didn't win a single game. Only two other players had done this in a ranking final before.
- He won his first match at the main stage of the 2022 World Snooker Championship.
A Break from the Tour (2023–2024)
In January 2023, Zhao was suspended by the sport's main organization. This was part of an investigation involving several Chinese players who broke rules about fair play. Zhao was found to have known about some of these rule-breaking activities. However, he was not personally involved in cheating in matches.
After a review, he was given a ban until September 1, 2024. This meant he could not play in professional tournaments during that time. It was a tough period for him.
Returning as a World Champion (2024–2025)
After his suspension ended in September 2024, Zhao started playing again on the amateur Q Tour. He was determined to earn his way back to the professional tour.
- In October 2024, he won Q Tour Event 3. During this event, he made history by hitting the first-ever "maximum break" on the Q Tour. A maximum break is when a player scores 147 points in one turn, which is the highest possible score in snooker.
- He then won Q Tour Event 4 in November, making another maximum break!
- He continued his winning streak, taking Q Tour Event 5 in December and Q Tour Event 6 in January 2025. This meant he won four events in a row and 32 matches in a row on the Q Tour.
- His amazing performance guaranteed him a spot back on the professional tour for the 2025-2026 season.
Even though he was still an amateur player at this point, Zhao was invited to play in the 2024 UK Championship. He qualified for the main stage but lost in the first round.
Then came the 2025 World Snooker Championship. Zhao had to win four qualifying matches to reach the main stage. He did it! He became only the third amateur-ranked player to reach the main part of this huge tournament.
- In the semi-finals, he faced seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and beat him convincingly.
- In the final, he played against Mark Williams and won 18-12.
- This made him the World Champion! He was the first player from Asia and the first amateur player to ever win this title.
- As a result of winning the World Championship, Zhao was given a world ranking of 11th for the new season. He had an incredible comeback, winning 47 out of 49 matches since his suspension ended.
Career Finals
Ranking Finals: 3 (3 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2021 | UK Championship |  Luca Brecel |
10–5 |
| Winner | 2. | 2022 | German Masters |  Yan Bingtao |
9–0 |
| Winner | 3. | 2025 | World Snooker Championship |  Mark Williams |
18–12 |
Pro-am Finals: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2017 | Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games |  Hossein Vafaei |
4–2 |
Team Finals: 2 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2017 | CVB Snooker Challenge | China |
 Great Britain |
9–26 |
| Winner | 1. | 2018 | Macau Masters |  Barry Hawkins Ryan Day Zhou Yuelong |
Mark Williams Joe Perry Marco Fu Zhang Anda |
5–1 |
Amateur Finals: 6 (4 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2013 | IBSF World Snooker Championship | Zhou Yuelong |
4–8 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2015 | IBSF World Snooker Championship (2) |  Pankaj Advani |
6–8 |
| Winner | 1. | 2024 | Q Tour Event 3 | Craig Steadman |
4–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 2024 | Q Tour Event 4 | Ryan Davies |
4–1 |
| Winner | 3. | 2024 | Q Tour Event 5 |  Ryan Thomerson |
4–2 |
| Winner | 4. | 2025 | Q Tour Event 6 | Ehsan Heydari Nezhad |
4–1 |
Images for kids
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Zhao at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
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Zhao playing a shot.
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Zhao in 2025
See also
In Spanish: Zhao Xintong para niños
