Zhao Xintong produced an amazing display of attacking snooker to knock out his hero, the seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, with a session to spare and reach the final of the World Snooker Championship.
O’Sullivan was left helpless to respond to the brilliance of the Chinese sensation who had come through four rounds of qualifying to reach the final stages at the Crucible. Zhao said: “I can’t believe it. Thank you to Ronnie, he helped me a lot before. He’s my idol.”
O’Sullivan was gracious in defeat and warmly congratulated his opponent after he sealed victory with another effortless clearance to complete a 17-7 triumph. “Zhao deserves his victory,” he said. O’Sullivan trailed 12-4 going into the evening session and won the first two frames to spark hopes of a fightback, but it was not to be. Zhao will meet Judd Trump or Mark Williams in the final – which will be played on Sunday and Monday – and will benefit from a day off.
There has been talk for a long time about a first Chinese world champion, but apart from Ding Junhui making the final in 2016, when he lost to Mark Selby, no one has come close. This could be the moment, with Zhao in brilliant form and seemingly unfazed by reaching the one-table setup at the Crucible for the first time.
O’Sullivan’s participation in the tournament had been in doubt after he had withdrawn from the Masters in January and every ranking event since on medical grounds. His only appearance on the tour this year was in the Championship League in January, when he snapped his cue after losing four of his five matches. He had come through to the semi-finals at the Crucible comfortably, though was unhappy with his form, and changed his tip and ferrule after the first session with the score level at 4-4.
After the match, he said: “I don’t even know if it was the cue, the ferrule or me. There were three things. I just don’t even know where the white ball’s going. I’m at a loss, to be honest with you. I don’t even know what to say.
“Sometimes you’ve got to try something different, you know? It didn’t feel great before so I tried to go back to the old brass ferrule.
“I’m not making the cue as an excuse or anything like that but if I hadn’t snapped my old cue maybe I’d have been able to give him a better game but really my performances have not been good enough.”
Earlier, O’Sullivan’s mid-match change of tip backfired spectacularly as he was whitewashed in the second session. He had still emerged from the first session level at 4-4, but lost all eight frames on Friday morning as Zhao ruthlessly punished every missed pot and poor safety to move 12-4 ahead.
Zhao made breaks of 57 (twice), 112 and 82 to establish an 8-4 lead, with O’Sullivan scoring just 50 points in those four frames and recording a highest break of 23. There was no respite for O’Sullivan after the mid-session interval as Zhao made breaks of 67 and 115 to extend his lead, with the Englishman then missing a yellow off the spot in the next frame to allow his opponent back to the table.
The Chinese sensation needed two opportunities to take the frame and also took the last of the session with a break of 87 after O’Sullivan had inexplicably missed a simple blue to the middle pocket.
The former UK Championship winner John Virgo, commentating for the BBC, praised Zhao’s performance. “Scintillating snooker,” he said. “What a player. What a future he’s got in the game. To do this to Ronnie O’Sullivan, it’s a phenomenal performance. Changing of the guard maybe, right here, right now.”
Williams fought back from a four-frame deficit against Trump to level their semi-final at 8-8. Trump resumed 5-3 ahead and set down an early marker to increase his lead and suggest that he could run away with the match.
A break of 70 extended Trump’s lead to 6-3 and he pinched the next frame with a 65 clearance after Williams, on a break of 57, missed a black off the spot.
Williams replied with breaks of 105 and 84 before edging a scrappier 13th to trail 7-6. Trump took the next without any big breaks but Williams, seeking a fourth world title, shaded a tense 15th frame, sewing it up on the pink. And a consummate 96 clearance from the Welshman ensured parity before the pair resume play on Saturday.
