World Snooker Tour respond to player outrage over Zhao Xintong ranking
World Snooker Tour accept that the wording could have been clearer after Zhao Xintong's ranking status caused confusion and anger among players.
The Chinese star won the World Snooker Championship on Monday night, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the Crucible final.
The 28-year-old did so under amateur status as he was banned from the sport for 20-months for being concerned in match-fixing and betting on snooker.
That ban saw him drop off the professional tour and he has played on the amateur circuit to regain his pro status, which he did quickly, earning himself a two-year tour card starting in the coming season.
However, an unusual situation has arisen as Zhao came through World Championship qualifying, all the way to win the title, earning himself £500,000 in the process.
The ranking system is based on prize money and that has catapulted him into the world's top 16, if indeed he is allowed to get those ranking points as an amateur player.
The WST entry pack for players appeared to suggest otherwise, although it was, by their own admission, poorly worded.
The entry pack reads: 'WST qualification for season 2025/2026: Top 64 from Prize Money Rankings after World Championship 2025. An amateur player can qualify in the Top 64 however their ranking points will always reset to zero at the start of each season. That amateur will count as a Top 64 player and the player ranked 64 would fall outside of the Top 64 and fail to qualify. Additional tour spaces will be announced in due course. Tour places are at the sole discretion of WST.'
WST have since explained that Zhao will indeed rise to number 11 in the world rankings, accepting that the entry pack unintentionally suggests that would not happen.
A statement before the World Championship final read: 'The principal clearly established in snooker is that amateurs can earn prize money and ranking points in the same way that professionals do, and there are many precedents for this.
'Zhao has earned his top 64 place on merit, he will keep the rankings points he has earned and if he wins the World Championship he will be seeded second for most events next season which again is a long standing principal.
'Our entry pack was agreed with the Players Board before the start of this season. We accept that the wording in this particular paragraph could have been clearer, but the principals are unchanged and well established.'
WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson appeared on the BBC and was asked about the situation by Ken Doherty, who said players were 'up in arms' about it.
Ali Carter, in particular, could be aggrieved as he is the player who has dropped outside of the top 16 as a result of Zhao being ranked so highly.
World number 10 Mark Allen posted on social media: 'What's the point in having rules/criteria if you just change it after the fact whenever suits? I'm baffled how people can't see how poor this is.'
Ferguson explained: 'It's not actually a rule change, it's a scenario that's never happened before.
'Amateur players do enter events from time to time, from top-ups in various events, and as they come in they play against professionals but they never break into the top 64 because they only come in for one or two events.
'This is the first time we've seen this where somebody has broken all the way through, earnt enough points in a season. In that scenario the case is that the player retains those ranking points because the player is deemed a professional player and joins the professional tour by retaining that top 64 position.'
There was some controversy over Zhao being able to play at all on the amateur circuit this season as his 20-month ban from the sport was extended by the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association to run until July 2025.
In order to play on the Q Tour, the entry forms state that a player must be 'in good standing' with their national federation, which Zhao clearly was not. More Trending
Speaking to Metro in August last year, Ferguson explained that while Zhao remained banned in China, he was going to be allowed to play on the Q Tour anyway.
'We've clarified that situation with China,' he said. 'Those bans stand in China, but what we do here at the WPBSA is recognise the ban of the independent sports tribunal. China does have the ability to put in its own process in its own country.
'However, in terms of the things we do, we're recognising the ban put in place by the independent tribunal.'
With Zhao now in the top 64, the tour card he won through the Q Tour is set to be awarded to a different player, although who that is has not yet been confirmed.
MORE: Mark Williams compares Zhao Xintong to Ronnie O'Sullivan and rates chances of breaking his records
MORE: Zhao Xintong on brink of historic World Snooker Championship title
MORE: What is the greatest comeback in World Snooker Championship history?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
10 hours ago
- NBC News
With kung fu kicks and dragon masks, pro wrestlers find new fans at fight night in China
Asia American-style professional wrestling is gaining momentum in China, where Chinese history and music are woven into standard pro wrestling fare. June 6, 2025, 5:16 AM EDT By Janis Mackey Frayer BEIJING — The music blared and the crowd whooped as Alexis Lee strutted across the stage toward the ring. At just 5 feet tall, the wispy professional wrestler was dwarfed by heftier contenders, so to make her point, she pushed a spectator over in his chair and growled through her skeleton face paint. The crowd loved it. 'It's like the circus but with athletics,' Lee, a 30-year-old Singaporean, told NBC News. 'So it's entertaining, and live drama too. It's just fun.' While martial arts have a deep history in China, professional wrestling — with its raucous theatrics, shiny tights and body slams — is still fighting for recognition here. But on a recent Saturday night at a live events venue in Beijing, a special six-match bout billed as the 'Battle of the Decade' showed how far pro wrestling has come and its potential in the massive Chinese entertainment market. 'People are really starting to take pro wrestling — Chinese pro wrestling — seriously,' said Adrian Gomez, the American founder of Middle Kingdom Wrestling, one of the few pro wrestling organizations in China, and the man of the night. 'I feel this is the pinnacle of 10 years of really hard work,' said Gomez, 37, whose first-ever wrestling event in 2015 failed to draw a single paying spectator. For this event, there were all the alter egos and over-the-top moves of American-style pro wrestling that have made WWE a global brand. For the harder-to-win Chinese market, wrestlers have woven Chinese history and music into standard pro wrestling fare. Alberto Curry, from Atlanta, is better known on the Asia pro wrestling circuit as Zombie Dragon for the leathery dragon mask with wing tips that he wears. Curry admits it took some experimentation to determine what a Chinese audience wants to see. 'Nobody reacted to being a bad guy, which is weird,' a masked Curry, 36, said in an interview. 'Then I switched it, and people immediately took to it.' One of the obstacles to acceptance in China is that officials have appeared unsure whether to classify pro wrestling as actual fighting or entertainment, according to Ho Ho Lun, who was squaring off against Chinese wrestling legend The Slam in the evening's main event. 'For many years, there were no Chinese talents,' said Lun, 36, a former WWE wrestling star from the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. 'People used to only watch on TV until they found out, 'Oh, there's actually a place I can go and watch it for real.'' WWE tried breaking into the Chinese market back in 2016, and more recently signed a livestreaming deal with a mainland platform. The reach is limited, according to market intelligence firm S&P Global, as less than 10% of Chinese households with internet access have ever tuned in. 'The thing about wrestling is that it can be anything you want it to be,' said Gomez, who moved on a whim from Arizona to the northern Chinese city of Harbin 15 years ago to work as an English teacher. 'There weren't really any local leagues for pro wrestling,' he said. 'I think we've found a way to please and make Chinese people feel proud of the wrestling that's building up here.' For wrestlers, it's a fully hands-on experience, from getting ready to adjusting each other's costumes to selling their own branded merchandise before and after the show. They even helped build the ring for the event. Few felt what was at stake more than Wang Tao, who grew up in rural China and is considered a rising star among pro wrestlers. Wang rehearsed moves with his Dubai-based wrestling partner Shaheen Alshehhi and, wearing no shirt and silver streaks in his hair, quietly paced a hallway close to the ringside. 'I'm a little nervous,' he said. 'For me, this is really important.' Throughout the night, the sold-out crowd of nearly 400 people cheered, booed, swore and laughed as wrestlers delivered kung fu kicks and body blows and even spilled out of the ring onto the floor. Ho Ho Lun defeated The Slam to claim the championship belt, notching a victory for the pro wrestling scene here in the process. 'People are looking for new ways to entertain themselves,' wrestling fan Beck Jiang, 32, said of the Chinese market. 'This is a pretty awesome way.' Janis Mackey Frayer Janis Mackey Frayer is a Beijing-based correspondent for NBC News.
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty disagree on most underrated snooker player ever
Former world champions Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty have picked players they consider the most underrated, and both chose men who narrowly missed out on Crucible glory. Hendry reckons the player he beat in four World Championship finals does not always get the credit he deserves. Jimmy White lost six Crucible finals in total, also beaten by Steve Davis and John Parrott in the sport's biggest game, and Hendry feels the Whirlwind is unfairly remembered for his defeats rather than his brilliance. A 10-time ranking event winner and a Masters champion, Hendry also feels White continuing to play a long time past his peak means people can forget how good he was in his pomp. 'Underrated, it's quite a tough category but I'm going to say Jimmy,' Hendry said on WST's Snooker Club podcast. 'Everyone goes on about he's been in six finals and not won one but what a player he was! 'People look at the way he plays now and he's like myself, he's a shadow of what he was, but when you look back at what a player he was, he invented naughty snooker. 'The way he played, with his talent, and he's said himself about his off-table activities, but with his talent he should have won a lot more.' Doherty, who beat Hendry to win his one world title in 1997, reckons it is two-time Crucible finalist Matthew Stevens who is underrated by the snooker community. The Welshman only ever won one ranking title – the 2003 UK Championship – but was a regular at the business end of the World Championship in the late 1990s and 2000s. He also won the Masters in 2000, although he had a strange record in that event as he never got past the first round on 10 other outings. Doherty explained: 'My most underrated would probably be Matthew Stevens. He was a class player, still is a class player. 'He did win the UK, won the Masters, the only one he didn't win was this one [World Championship] and he would have been a Triple Crown winner. People forget about that. 'He was a wonderful player for so many years and loved playing at the Crucible. Had a couple of finals, a few semis, saved some of his best snooker for here. He was one of the best I've played.' Seven-time Crucible champ Hendry admits that he underrated another top player, but no longer does so after a brilliant last season. More Trending Kyren Wilson won the World Championship in 2024, in something of a surprise to the Scot, who was thoroughly impressed by how he followed up that win with four ranking titles over the next campaign. 'I'll throw in another underrated [player] that might be a weird one: Kyren Wilson,' said the 56-year-old. 'I underrated him and then he won the world title. Even after he won the world title I think I underrated him until his performances this season. 'Four titles. I didn't think he was going to be a prolific winner and he's really impressed me this year.' MORE: Anthony Hamilton reflects on epic career as Sheriff of Pottingham hands in his badge MORE: Which players could actually win World Snooker Tour's huge century of centuries bonus? MORE: Liam Pullen: In snooker only the strongest survive so you have to become one of them
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
LTA commits to introducing equal prize money at Queen's and Eastbourne by 2029
The Lawn Tennis Association has committed to paying equal prize money to female players at Queen's and Eastbourne by 2029. Women will play at Queen's Club next week for the first time in more than 50 years at the inaugural HSBC Championships, featuring the likes of Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and top-10 stars Madison Keys and Zheng Qinwen. The LTA announced on Thursday it would pay total prize money of 1.415million US dollars (approximately £1m), the highest for a WTA 500 event of its draw size this year. But that is still less than half of the prize pot that will be paid out to the male players the following week for the equivalent tournament on the ATP Tour. At the Lexus Eastbourne Open, a joint WTA and ATP event staged the week before Wimbledon beginning on June 23, the difference is even starker, with the women's prize fund of 389,000 US dollars (approximately £287,000) significantly inferior to the more than £630,000 that will be paid to the men. While prize money is equal at the grand slams and some joint tour events, generally remuneration on the WTA Tour is substantially lower than the ATP. The LTA stated an aim to achieve parity before 2029 but its rationale comes against a £4million loss made across the grass-court events it staged last year – Wimbledon is run by the All England Club – with the men's event at Queen's the only profitable tournament. Scott Lloyd, the governing body's chief executive, said: 'We are making significant increases this year to the women's prize money at Queen's and Eastbourne and want to achieve equal prize money as soon as possible. 'The LTA is committed to growing women's tennis, both at professional and grass-roots level, and this move is an important part of that commitment. 'This year fans will be able to enjoy both men's and women's tennis on the biggest stages that we can offer and we want to develop the tournaments so that the women's events deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the sport.' Ticket sales for the women's event at Queen's are currently around 80 per cent, with the men's tournament sold out, while 55 per cent of those purchasing WTA tickets have been female.
