Will Zhao Xintong receive World Snooker Championship prize money as an amateur?
ZHAO XINTONG is on the cusp of history as he closes in on the World Snooker Championship title.
The Chinese cueist looks set to become the first Asian and the first amateur to win the iconic Crucible crown.
1
Zhao holds a 17-8 lead over three-time world champion Mark Williams heading into the last session of the final this evening.
The 28-year-old has been the standout player at the Crucible, knocking out the likes of seven-time world champ Ronnie O'Sullivan en route to the final.
Many fans have questioned whether Zhao's amateur status would affect the prize money he would collect from his stunning run at the tournament - SunSport brings you the answer below.
Will Zhao Xintong receive World Snooker Championship prize money as an amateur?
Zhao was tipped by many to break into snooker's elite after winning the 2021 UK Championship and 2022 German Masters.
But his career was paused in June 2023 after he was banned for 20 months for his role in a match-fixing scandal.
Zhao was one of 10 players involved who were suspended from snooker, but crucially, he did not fix matches himself.
Due to his involvement in the scandal, the Chinese star was relegated to amateur status.
Amateurs in some sports, such as golf, aren't eligible to win prize money during events.
However, this ruling does not apply in snooker, meaning Zhao will receive all £500,000 for winning the World Championship, should he go all the way.
Controversially, the Chinese cueist will also keep his ranking points after he earned his way back onto the tour following his suspension through his success in four events on the amateur Q Tour.
Should he pick up the Crucible crown, Zhao will surge up to 11th in the world rankings and also be seeded second for every tournament next season - except for the Worlds defence, where he will be the No1.
On the matter, a WST spokesperson said: "The principle 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 principle.
"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 principles are unchanged and well established."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
7 hours ago
- Metro
Zak Surety on wild Crucible debut: They can't ever move from there - it's mad
Zak Surety had a very eventful debut at the World Snooker Championship this year and although he both loved and hated the experience, he was convinced that the 'mad' Crucible is the perfect home for the event. The 33-year-old enjoyed his best ever season by a long stretch, reaching a first semi-final at the World Open and finishing the campaign with a Crucible debut after brilliant performances in qualifying. At the iconic Sheffield theatre he faced Chinese superstar Ding Junhui and the pair produced an amazing opening round contest. Ding went 4-0 up as Surety struggled with the occasion and things looked very sticky for the Englishman at the first interval. 'At the start I walked out and sat in my seat and that was the strangest I've ever felt,' Surety told Metro. 'I've never felt that uncomfortable. My arms didn't feel part of my body. It felt like my tip didn't belong to me. Everything felt wrong. 'I've got myself in a bit of a state and I'm 4-0 down. I'm in the dressing room thinking I really don't want to go out there. It's your dream, but I just didn't want to go back out there because I was making myself look like an absolute idiot.' Surety has spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety before, so it is to his immense credit that he overcame those feelings in some style, starting with only losing that first session 6-3. 'I made a century the last frame of the first session,' he remembers. 'When the screen came up it was probably the best buzz I've ever had because it was the whole Crucible to myself. The noise in there! I was welling up as I got to 90 and thought, is this really me? 'Obviously then the second day I flew.' He certainly did, becoming the first player in Crucible history to make four centuries on debut and although he ultimately lost 10-7, he did anything but make himself look like an absolute idiot. 'I actually watched the second session back last week and I don't feel like it's me,' he said. 'It's just some random bald bloke on the tele. I'm watching it back and thinking, did that really happen? 'I felt weird after because I left, I've set a record, I've played well, I can go home and the pressure of it is all over. They're all talking about me on the tele, great position going into next season, everything's good. 'Then you're home and you think about it and that was such a good chance. I was playing so well, I could have done something there and it quickly goes from feeling quite content about the whole experience to being quite annoyed.' Mixed feelings sums up the Crucible experience as Surety's first game there epitomised the cliché that the venue is both the best and worst place to play snooker. 'I sat down and tried to convince myself it was going to be the best place on Earth, but you get it drummed into your head how you're meant to feel in there,' he said. 'Mark Allen asked me how I was feeling and told me that he was there for the 19th time and still struggles every time he walks out there. It's like it's normal. 'I watched the opening morning before travelling up and Steve Davis said on camera: 'I can't wait to watch the top players in the world squirm under the pressure of the Crucible.' I looked at my girlfriend and said: 'Bloody hell, that's me this year!'' 'Although I hated those first four frames, that's how I'm meant to feel. You sit there, look left and that's where Steve Davis picked up all them trophies. I was looking up at the lights on the roof and tearing up. How the hell am I here? You find yourself losing yourself in the history of the place. 'At the start it felt like the walls sucked in on me and you just notice every set of eyes in the whole arena. I thought they were on me, which they were, but you notice it. The next day I was flying and it was like no one else was in there.' Surety was a huge fan of the place before playing there, but is now convinced that the unique nature of the Crucible is why it should remain the home of the World Championship, beyond the current contract which ends in 2027. 'They can't ever move from there,' he said. 'It's just…it's mad. 'It's so small in there, I think you're only allowed two back stage passes, but it works because you walk into the Champions Lounge upstairs and there's Stephen Hendry. As I walked in he said: 'Great run in the World Open, well done for qualifying, I'm glad to see you doing well.' I'd never spoken to Stephen Hendry before! Things like that make it mad.' The challenge for Surety now is to build on the very encouraging end to last season and make it back to the Crucible next year, something he is working hard on. 'I lost to Ding on the Tuesday and I was back here in the club on the Wednesday,' he said. 'I quite like that time of year because you're not practising for anything, just playing and having a laugh.' More Trending The popular Essex star also had a summer of cue questions which has seen him chop, change and return to old faithful which arrived from eBay a decade ago. 'My cue's not the greatest. I love it, but it's an old Chinese cue that my dad picked up off eBay about 10 years ago for 130 quid,' he explained. 'There are a lot better cues, but it's obviously my own. 'John Parris has made me a new one and I used it for three or four days. I like using other cues as a bit of a challenge. I think I've made a century with near enough every bit of wood in the club. But when it's handed to you and this could be something you're going into the season with, I couldn't do it. 'I had to call John and say you can have your you're very expensive, beautiful cue back. I want me little piece of poo off eBay back and I I'm cracking on.' MORE: Wuhan Open and British Open draws made as Ronnie O'Sullivan enters both MORE: Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty disagree on most underrated snooker player ever MORE: Anthony Hamilton reflects on epic career as Sheriff of Pottingham hands in his badge
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
DARREN LEWIS - Premier League must honour Uriah Rennie and address glaring issue
Here's a truth about Uriah Rennie. He hated the spotlight. He hated the glitz, the glamour and the fascination that came with being the Premier League's first Black referee. He refused repeated requests for media interviews during and after his career, saving his life story for his memoir, Your Show, by the excellent Ashley Hickson-Lovence. Rennie was a pioneer. A trailblazer. All of the other adjectives you'd associate with an icon courageous to get to the top of the English game. Knowing what we do about the closed ranks of an un-diverse refereeing fraternity, it was some achievement for him to make it to the very top of his profession in the domestic game in the late nineties. The reason why you haven't heard more tributes from top flight referees of colour is because Rennie was one of just two in over three decades of Premier League football. After his final top flight game on the last day of the 2007-08 season, the only other Black man take change of a game in the competition was Sam Allison - 15 years later. Allison's first game, two years ago, was described as 'a pivotal moment' for English football. Now you barely see him in the Premier League. In the top seven divisions of English football - so from the Premier League to the National League, just four referees are Black or Asian - Allison, Joel Mannix, Aji Ajibola and Sunny Singh Gill. BAMRef, the Black, Asian and Mixed heritage Referees Association, was formed in order to do what English football couldn't - or wouldn't - until a few performative attempts a couple of years ago: support, develop and push for more Black referees. Because they are out there. Four and a half thousand of them in fact. Many of them having taken the same courses as some of the officials you see right now in the top two divisions. This year's annual BAMRef conference, beginning on July 19 in Nottingham, will be more emotional that usual. Rennie had been the body's north star before his passing, aged just 65. Some officials of colour knew him. Many didn't. But all of them wanted to emulate his success at breaking through that seemingly impenetrable glass ceiling. Even then, you can only imagine what Rennie went through during the days when even the supposedly forward-thinking English game developed selective hearing or looked the other way rather than confront the racist abuse accompanying criticism of his decisions. Many a time I'd be in the press box as a young reporter, listening to it. Acutely attuned to it. He was 'the Black referee', a rarity. I wanted him to do well. I grew frustrated that he had to put up with it. Some critics dismissed him as a celebrity ref during the early to mid-noughties. They didn't like the fact that he had a life away from the game within which he practised kick-boxing and aikido. They certainly didn't like the fact that he took no bits from any player, regardless of their status within the game. This is a man who sent off hugely-respected, iconic figures such as Roy Keane and Alan Shearer and managed the likes of Ian Wright. A man described as one of the fittest officials the top flight had ever seen. But even that feels as though it perpetuates a trope that Rennie was so much more than. His drive, determination and effective decision-making under pressure enabled him to make that breakthrough. His skill as a fantastic communicator enabled him to make that breakthrough. His calm authority in a flashpoint enabled him to make that breakthrough. Much has been made of the 300-plus games he managed between 1997 and 2008, including 175 Premier League games. But he'd already been added to the Fifa international list in 2000. The promotion to the PGMOL's Select Group of professional referees came the following year. Rennie was so good they simply couldn't ignore him. Now he will never be forgotten. Sky has slashed the price of its bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more. Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
Scottish Sun
11 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Jack Grealish lined up as Florian Wirtz replacement with Man City star accepting Etihad career is over
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JACK GREALISH is being lined up as a potential replacement for Florian Wirtz, SunSport can reveal. The Manchester City and England star has accepted his career at the Etihad is over, and he's set to become one of the most sought after players in Europe this summer. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Jack Grealish is being lined up to replace Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen Credit: Getty 4 Wirtz is expected to leave the club in a deal which could break the Premier League transfer record Credit: Getty 4 New boss Erik ten Hag is said to be a huge fan of Grealish Credit: AFP Tottenham, Newcastle, and former club Aston Villa are all among those reportedly interested in the player. Italian champions Napoli are also strongly linked with the attacking midfielder, as Antonio Conte looks to build a squad that can compete in the Champions League next season. Now, German giants Bayer Leverkusen are set to enter the race as well, with City wanting around £40million for him. New manager Erik ten Hag is believed to be a huge admirer of the 29-year-old and has told Leverkusen chiefs he could be the 'perfect replacement' for Wirtz. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL PORT OF CALL Cristiano Ronaldo sends clear message over future after Nations League triumph Wirtz, 22, is set to leave the club this summer with Liverpool red-hot favourites to sign him, despite seeing a £113m bid rejected last week. It's likely to leave ex-Manchester United boss Ten Hag with a massive war-chest to spend. And after landing Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken, he's planning to use some of the cash to try to tempt Grealish to quit the Premier League. Sources close to the player say Grealish is attracted by the idea of playing overseas. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK He's keen to make a fresh start and force his way back into the England squad ahead of next summer's World Cup. A fairytale move back to boyhood club Villa would also interest Grealish. Jack Grealish shows off his singing skills as he meets Rod Stewart in Dortmund with mum and dad on break from Man City But their failure to secure Champions League football could count against them when Grealish makes his decision. SunSport exclusively revealed how Newcastle were interested in signing the £100m City ace on loan. but would need to pay his full £300,000-a-week wages to complete a deal. Grealish was told his City career was over after reports emerged saying he would be omitted from Pep Guardiola's squad for the Club World Cup. Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel is a big admirer of Grealish, but wants to see him playing week-in-week-out before considering him for his plans.
