Zhao Xintong wins enormous prize money and fellow players are really not happy

Wales Online

05-05-2025

Zhao Xintong wins enormous prize money and fellow players are really not happy
The Chinese star has become the first player from his country to lift the trophy at the Crucible
Zhao Xintong has won the World Snooker Championship
(Image: BBC )
Zhao Xintong has created history by becoming the first-ever Chinese snooker world champion and first amateur to win the tournament.
The 28-year-old beat three-time world champ Mark Williams in a thrilling final at the Crucible in Sheffield, pocketing a cool £500,000 in the process. The event is likely to be huge news in China, with millions cheering him on in the showpiece finale against the Welsh Potting Machine.
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The World Championship win, the first ever by an amateur competitor, could go a long way to boosting the profile of the sport, and himself, in China and may will view the win as a huge moment for snooker. However, given the scandal in which he was recently embroiled, there are some within the sport who might have a different.
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Previously handed a 20-month suspension over match-fixing allegations, Zhao, the 2021 UK Championship winner, did not directly fix a match but confessed to being part of another player's scheme and betting on matches. Despite his stint away from professional snooker, he won back his place via the Q Tour and has become a regular competitor at the Crucible.
This win over Williams has now launched him into the top 16, however tension is brewing among fellow competitors, who are reportedly "aggrieved" and feel it's unfair that Zhao's £500,000 World Championship winnings could count towards his ranking when he earned them as an amateur.
During the final, BBC host Hazel Irvine brought up Zhao's controversial rise to World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson, calling it "A big story but also a massive scandal in the sport."
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In response, Ferguson acknowledged that the snooker authorities warmly embraced Zhao's return "with open arms", firmly stating that Zhao is entitled to keep those ranking points after reclaiming his tour card through the Q Tour, instead of achieving it in Sheffield.
"It's important to talk about and he has served his time and he has paid his fine and actually he has followed a route of trying to work his way back in," noted Ferguson.
"I think people will always refer to it but when you're young you might get pulled into things. But there is a route back and there is a route to return. From our point of view, he has done the right thing from day one and is welcomed back into the sport and will be a professional player again at the end of this World Championship."
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Zhao's prospect of regaining his Q Tour spot is under review, however, Irvine made the case that Zhao's triumph over Williams, which means he will break into the top 16, has effectively sidelined Ali Carter from exclusive events.
She argued, "But he does dive into the top 16, which he would if he wins the title, somebody like Ali Carter in 16th place is obviously a little bit aggrieved that this might bump him out of some of the big events. You can see it from his perspective."
To which Ferguson responded affirmatively, "Absolutely you can and there is another player who has worked very hard and had a great career, been out and is back in the top 16. Amazing really to think this scenario could even happen, I think we are all looking at it and thinking: 'Wow, what is happening here?'
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"But it does show how wide snooker is these days, you have the ability to go from zero to hero pretty quickly. We have created a system and broken down all the boundaries, where other sports have layers to their system."
BBC pundit Ken Doherty expressed concerns about the brewing discontent among snooker professionals regarding Zhao's Crucible prize money and its impact on rankings.
"The big question at this point is about the prize money," remarked the 1997 world champ. "A lot of players are a bit up in arms about it. The rules might have been changed, if he wins the Championship he keeps the prize money, when it should be going to scratch when he picks up his tour card."
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However, Ferguson responded to the debate by clarifying the situation around the controversial rule interpretation.
"It is not actually a rule change, it is a scenario that has never happened before," he said. "Amateur players do enter events from time to time, 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.
"It is the first time we have actually seen this where someone has actually broken all the way through and earned enough points in a season. In that scenario, the case is that the player retains his ranking points because the player is deemed a professional player and joins the professional tour by retaining the top 64 position.
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"So the places from the Q Tour is now a vacant place and the potential to top up there is available."