# Zhao Xintong

Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese snooker player. Zhao won the 2021 UK Championship, but received a 20-month ban from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association after committing offences relating to betting on snooker in 2023. This ban expired on 1 September 2024. He secured his return to the World Snooker Tour for the 2025–26 season by topping the Q Tour Europe rankings list.
Zhao attracted attention as a teenager, with a number of top players commenting on his potential in the sport. He joined the professional tour in 2016 and won his first ranking title and first Triple Crown title at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final. With this win, he entered the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time and became eligible for his first Masters. He won his second ranking title at the 2022 German Masters when he whitewashed Yan Bingtao 9–0 in the final, becoming only the third player, after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson, to win a two-session ranking final without conceding a frame.
In January 2023, the sport's governing body suspended Zhao as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players. He was subsequently charged with being concerned in fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour and betting on snooker. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, Zhao was banned from professional competition until 1 September 2024.
After his ban ended, Zhao competed on the secondary Q Tour which serves as a qualification route to the main professional tour. He won four straight events on the Q Tour between October 2024 and January 2025, thereby guaranteeing the top spot on the Q Tour Europe rankings list and securing his return to professional competition for the 2025–26 season. He also became the first player to make a maximum break on the Q Tour, achieving the feat in Events 3 and 4.

## Career

   "This boy was astonishingly good and better than anybody I have ever seen at that age - and that includes Ronnie O'Sullivan!"
Zhao Xintong first drew international attention in June 2012 at the Zhangjiagang Open defeating high ranking players Xiao Guodong, Irishman Kevin McMahon and Yu Delu to reach the last 16 of the tournament where he narrowly lost 4–3 to Stephen Lee. Zhao would build on this success by reaching the second round of Asian Tour Events the Yixing Open and Zhengzhou Open.
As a wildcard entrant he defeated former World Champion Ken Doherty in the International Championship to reach the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time, again narrowly losing in a final frame decider 6–5 to Matthew Stevens. Having also earned his way to the last 32 of the World Open and China Open, Zhao started gaining the reputation of the Wildcard Menace, a mantle formerly held by Kevin McMahon.
In 2013, at the International Championship, he beat six-time World Champion Steve Davis 6–1 who later commented: "This boy was astonishingly good and better than anybody I have ever seen at that age - and that includes Ronnie O'Sullivan." He went on to reach the third round of the competition before losing 6–2 to Marco Fu, however he would go on to avenge this loss by defeating Fu in the first round of the 2014 Shanghai Masters. Zhao entered the World Amateur Championship in late 2013 reaching the final, however he lost to his fellow countryman Zhou Yuelong 8–4 and thus missed out on a chance to join the world snooker main tour for the 2014–15 season.

### 2014–15 season

Zhao entered several events in an attempt to qualify for the 2015–16 season. He was narrowly defeated in the first round of the ACBS Asian Snooker Championship. He won three games in the first event of the 2015 Q School before losing 4–3 to Alexander Ursenbacher in the penultimate round. In the second event Zhao got extremely close to qualifying for the main tour managing to reach the final round before losing 4–3 to Duane Jones in a black ball finish in the deciding frame.

### 2015–16 season

Zhao's high Q School Order of Merit ranking gave him entry as a top up player to many events in the 2015–16 season. He whitewashed Stuart Carrington 6–0 to qualify for the International Championship and, despite losing 6–2 to John Higgins in the first round, his effort of 142 won the high break prize for the event. Zhao made his first appearance at the UK Championship, German Masters and Welsh Open, but was knocked out in the opening round of each. He lost in the final of the 2015 IBSF World Snooker Championship 8–6 to Pankaj Advani. It meant that Zhao won a two-year card for the main tour after Advani declined the invitation.

### 2016–17 season

After whitewashing Wang Yuchen 4–0 at the English Open, Zhao met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round. Breaks of 130, 107 and 80 saw him lead 3–2, but he missed chances to take the win and was defeated 4–3. O'Sullivan said afterwards that Zhao's attacking style of play had reminded him of Stephen Hendry when he was a similar age. He qualified for the German Masters by beating Li Hang 5–3 and John Higgins 5–1 and a 5–0 thrashing of Sunny Akani saw Zhao reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. He held a narrow 4–3 advantage over Ali Carter, but lost the last two frames. Zhao was also edged out in the third round Gibraltar Open 4–3 by Mark Williams.

### 2017–18 season

He dropped off the tour at the end of the 2017–18 season but entered 2018 Q School in a bid to win back his place. He subsequently won back his place by beating Dechawat Poomjaeng in the second event final of Q School.

### 2018–19 season

Zhao bounced back after a difficult 2017–18 season, reaching his first semi-final at the China Championship early in the season, beating Matthew Stevens, Anthony McGill, Fergal O'Brien, Mark Williams, and Barry Hawkins, before losing 4–6 to Mark Selby. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, losing 2–5 to eventual finalist Stuart Bingham. Perhaps the biggest achievement of the season for Zhao was reaching the final stages of the World Championship for the first time, but he lost 7–10 to Selby in the first round.

### 2019–20 season

Zhao maintained his form from the previous season, reaching another quarter-final in the German Masters and progressing to the last 16 in at least four other tournaments. This consistent performance elevated his world ranking to 29th by the end of the season. Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, and Alan McManus have all once suggested that Zhao would become a leading player in world snooker due to his enormous potential.

### 2021–22 season – UK Champion and breakthrough into the top 16

In the 2021 UK Championship, Zhao claimed his first Triple Crown title, and first ranking title overall, by beating Belgian Luca Brecel 10–5, in the final. Due to this, he climbed into the Top 16 of the rankings, at number 9, becoming the Chinese number 1 player. He also qualified for the 2022 Masters, and became number 1 on the one-year ranking list. At the Masters, he played John Higgins in the first round in a repeat of prior meetings in both the World Grand Prix and the UK Championship, however, he lost 2–6.
In 2022, he reached the final of the 2022 German Masters, having defeated seasoned professionals such as Mark Williams, Tom Ford, the defending champion Judd Trump and Ricky Walden. There, he met fellow professional and countryman Yan Bingtao, whom he defeated by a whitewash of 9–0 to claim the second ranking title of his career in the space of just two months. By doing so, he became only the third player in history to whitewash a player in the final of a ranking event: the last two who did this were Steve Davis and Neil Robertson.

### 2022–23 season – Suspension

Zhao was suspended in January 2023 by the sport’s governing body as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players. He was subsequently charged with being concerned in fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour and betting on snooker. Hearings by an independent disciplinary tribunal were initiated in May 2023, and on 6 June 2023 he was given a 20 month ban until 1 September 2024, but was not docked any results or prize money.
When the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (the CBSA) upheld the original ban length of 30 months, confusion was created within the media covering the sport: at the time, the WPBSA stated that players not in good standing with their local association could not rejoin the World Snooker Tour, thus suggesting that Zhao would have had to wait until at least July 2025 to begin competing in any amateur snooker tournament. The date would also have meant Zhao could not return to the professional tour until at least the start of the 2026–27 season. However, in subsequent interviews to the media in 2024, Jason Ferguson – the current chairman of the WPBSA – confirmed that the extended ban imposed by the CBSA only applied to events that were sanctioned and governed by the Chinese governing body: it did not apply to any events sanctioned and governed by any other association, including the WPBSA. This confirmation meant that Zhao would be eligible to enter the 2024–25 Q Tour after 1 September 2024, the date that his ban with the WPBSA expired, as well as any other amateur competition that is not sanctioned by the CBSA.

### 2024–25 season – Return to competition

After his suspension came to an end on 1 September 2024, Zhao competed on the amateur Q Tour, hoping to regain professional status, first entering Q Tour Event 2 held in Sofia. He subsequently won Q Tour Event 3 held in October 2024 in Stockholm. During the event, in his 4–1 win over Shaun Liu in the round of 64, he became the first player to make a maximum break on the Q Tour. On 10 November, he won Q Tour Event 4 held in Manchester, defeating Ryan Davies 4–2 in the final. On his run to the trophy, he made another maximum break in his 4–1 quarter-final win over Oliver Sykes, as well as three centuries in defeating Craig Steadman 4–1 in the semi-finals.
On 5 November 2024, WPBSA and WST announced that Zhao would be invited to play in the 2024 UK Championship as a WPBSA qualifier, an event he had won in 2021, due to his win in Event 3 on the Q Tour. He subsequently won four qualifying matches in the event to qualify for the main stage but was ultimately defeated 6‍–‍5 by Shaun Murphy in the first round.
He won Q Tour Event 5 held in Vienna on 15 December 2024, as well as Q Tour Event 6 held in Mons, Belgium, on 12 January 2025, defeating Australian Ryan Thomerson 4‍–‍2 and Iran's Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 4‍–‍1 in the finals respectively, thereby winning four straight events and 32 matches on the Q Tour in a row. His performance in event 6 guaranteed his place at the top of the Q Tour Europe rankings list and therefore secured him a new 2-year tour card for the 2025–26 season. Topping the Q Tour Europe rankings list also guaranteed him a spot in the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifying draw.

## Performance and rankings timeline

| Tournament | 2012/ 13 | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | 2019/ 20 | 2020/ 21 | 2021/ 22 | 2022/ 23 | 2024/ 25 |
| Ranking | | | | | | 72 | | 59 | 29 | 26 | 6 | |
| Ranking tournaments |||||||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | 3R | RR | 3R | A |
| Xi'an Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A |
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A |
| English Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A |
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 2R | A |
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A |
| Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 4R | LQ | LQ | A |
| International Championship | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A |
| UK Championship | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | W | 1R | 1R |
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | WD | 1R | WD | A |
| Scottish Open | MR | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | LQ | 1R | A |
| German Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | QF | LQ | W | WD | A |
| Welsh Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | 4R | 2R | 1R | WD | A |
| World Open | 1R | WR | Not Held | Not Held | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A |
| World Grand Prix | Not Held | Not Held | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | DNQ | DNQ |
| Players Championship | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | DNQ |
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | QF | DNQ | DNQ |
| World Championship | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | A | LQ | 2R | A | |
| Non-ranking tournaments |||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Ranking | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A |
| Champion of Champions | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A |
| World Masters of Snooker | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A |
| The Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | WD | A |
| Championship League | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | WD | 2R | A | A |
| Former ranking tournaments |||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic | A | WR | 3R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Australian Goldfields Open | A | A | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Shanghai Masters | WR | WR | 2R | A | LQ | LQ | Non-Ranking | Non-Ranking | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | NR |
| Paul Hunter Classic | Minor-Ranking Event | Minor-Ranking Event | Minor-Ranking Event | Minor-Ranking Event | 2R | 4R | A | NR | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Indian Open | NH | A | A | NH | 1R | 1R | 2R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| China Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Riga Masters | Not Held | Not Held | MR | MR | 2R | LQ | 3R | LQ | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| China Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | NR | LQ | SF | 3R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 2R | Not Held | Not Held |
| Gibraltar Open | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | MR | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | Not Held | Not Held |
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | NH |
| European Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | LQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | 2R | NH |
| Former non-ranking tournaments |||||||||||||
| Macau Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | RR | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Haining Open | Not Held | Not Held | MR | MR | A | A | A | 3R | NH | A | Not Held | Not Held |
| Hong Kong Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | WD | NH |
Performance Table Legend :
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. |
| R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. |
* ↑ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
* 1 2 3 4 He was an amateur
* ↑ New players don't have a ranking
* ↑ Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points
* ↑ He was an amateur after his ban ended on 1 September 2024
* ↑ Zhao had initially been entered into the tournament during the qualifying stages played in November, and had progressed to play in the televised stages in Berlin. However, before the main event started, he was suspended by the WPBSA, due to a match-fixing investigation and was subsequently withdrawn from the tournament.
* ↑ The event was called the Haikou World Open (2012/2013–2013/2014)
* ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
* ↑ Zhao had initially been invited to play in the Masters, but was suspended by the WPBSA the week before the tournament started, due to a match-fixing investigation and was subsequently withdrawn from participating.
* ↑ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

## Career finals
### Ranking finals: 2 (2 titles)

Legend :
* Legend
* UK Championship (1–0)
* Other (1–0)
| 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 |

### 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 |