Zhao Xintong told one thing he must do to be richest snooker star of all time

Daily Mirror

09-05-2025

Zhao Xintong became the first amateur to win the World Snooker Championship, and a sports finance expert has now tipped him to become one of the richest players ever
Crucible sensation Zhao Xintong has been predicted to land multi-million pound deals by a sports finance guru following his historic World Snooker Championship win. That's as long as he maintains his stunning form in the years to come.
The Chinese cueist turned up in Sheffield as an amateur after serving a 20-month ban due to his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. But he showed that his lack of professional status was just nominal.
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At just 28, Zhao stormed through the competition, comfortably defeating players like Chris Wakelin and then demolishing snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals.
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Another Class of '92 member, Mark Williams, awaited in the final, and Zhao did not falter. Leading 17-8 going into the final evening session, he secured his victory at 18-12, earning a cool £500,000.
As the first Asian world champion, Zhao's financial prospects are now expected to skyrocket. Speaking via Ace Odds, Professor Rob Wilson, a prominent sports finance expert, commented on the potential boost to Zhao's bank balance following his triumph.
"Winning the World Snooker Championship in itself will open the door to a completely different financial universe for Zhao Xintong," said Wilson. "The title itself comes with half a million pounds worth of prize money.
"That's immediate. The bigger opportunity, of course, for him will be endorsement, sponsorships, and the exhibition circuit, especially given his marketability in China.
"We know that the Chinese population are avid followers of snooker, and of course, it is a major competition that's followed over in the Far East. We've seen players like Ding Junhui being able to tap into that domestic audience of essentially hundreds of millions.
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"So if Zhao can leverage that sort of audience, you're looking at multi-million pound commercial deals across clothing, apparel, and equipment. They also do branded academies.
"There's one in Sheffield for Ding. Then, of course, there are media appearances, but with anything that I talk about in the context of sporting success, you know it's a big but.
"Whether he becomes the richest player of all time will depend on that sustained success that he will need over the next decade or so."
Wilson then commented on some of the potting legends that Zhao may surpass in career prize money, specifically mentioning the Chinese player's semi-final opponent, The Rocket, reports the Express.
"One title simply isn't enough. He'll need to build that legacy over the next five to 10 years at least to give him a platform with consistent top-tier performances," Wilson added.
"If he's able to do that, you could probably realistically expect him to surpass even players like Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan is on £15-20million career earnings when you factor in both prize money and off the table income. So it's a huge opportunity for Zhao, the first step in what could be a seriously lucrative financial journey."