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Zhao on brink of becoming China's first World Snooker champion / Photo: © AFP
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Zhao on brink of becoming China's first World Snooker champion
Zhao Xintong is on the verge of becoming the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship after the qualifier stormed into a 17-8 lead against Mark Williams in the final on Monday.
Zhao needs to win one more frame in the evening session to clinch his historic title in the best-of-35 showpiece at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
The 28-year-old had built an 11-6 lead on Sunday and, with the title in sight, he turned the screw on Williams in Monday's afternoon session.
Zhao won four of the first five frames to move 15-7 ahead, raising the prospect of wrapping up the final with a session to spare.
The Chinese sensation, who had a session left unused in his 17-7 semi-final rout of seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, was unable to achieve that feat this time as Williams briefly stopped the rot.
But Williams' bid to become snooker's oldest world champion by lifting the trophy for a fourth time looks destined to end in failure.
The 50-year-old Welshman was no match for Zhao's dynamic shot-making and relentless break-building as the Chinese star swept to the brink of snooker immortality.
Zhao is only China's second World Championship finalist, emulating Ding Junhui's run to the 2016 showpiece.
But while Ding was beaten by Mark Selby in the final nine years ago, Zhao has produced a nerveless display to move within touching distance of becoming Asia's first world snooker champion.
Zhao would be one of the tournament's most unexpected winners.
He is playing as an amateur as he continues his comeback after a 20-month ban for involvement in a 2023 betting scandal.
Zhao, who won the 2021 UK Championship, accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.
The controversy led to 10 Chinese players being punished, with life bans for Liang Wenbo and Li Hang.
Zhao's enforced amateur status meant he had to battle through four qualifying rounds just to reach the World Championship main draw at the Crucible, which is walking distance from his Sheffield home.
G.Grabowski--GL
