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The Irish Sun
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Emotional Zhao Xintong shares touching moment with rarely-seen girlfriend after World Snooker Championship triumph
ZHAO XINTONG shared a touching moment with his girlfriend after being crowned snooker world champion. China's Xintong, 28, became the first man from Asia to win the World Snooker Championship. Advertisement 6 Zhao Xintong celebrated winning the Snooker World Championship with Victoria Shi and his girlfriend Yiyi Credit: AFP 6 Yiyi delicately plucked out a piece of confetti from Xintong's hair during the celebrations Credit: AFP He Xintong's manager and 'second mum' Victoria Shi immediately ran over to give him a Chinese flag to wrap around his shoulders. And then he got his hands on the famous trophy. With his parents watching back home in China - his mum has never been on a plane - it was Victoria and Xintong's girlfriend Yiyi who joined him beside the table for the celebrations. Advertisement READ MORE IN SNOOKER The trio were all smiles for the cameras as they posed with the trophy, with Yiyi appearing to hold back tears in the emotion of her man's victory. And then she showed her kind heart with a lovely moment. Yiyi spotted a piece of red confetti from the ticker tape had landed in Xintong's hair without him realising. So as she made way for him to have more photos, Yiyi delicately plucked the rogue confetti out. Advertisement Most read in Snooker Exclusive Xintong thanked his girlfriend, head of Sheffield Snooker Academy Shi and his parents in a classy victory speech. He said: "I can't believe this. Yes, I can't believe what I have done in this match. I'm very excited. Thank you. BBC World Snooker Championship commentator brutally shut down live on air by Shaun Murphy in 'very awkward' exchange 'I have been so nervous. Mark is a top player and gave me so much pressure. He's the best. 'I'm not tired. I will celebrate, maybe have a good drink tonight. Advertisement "I need to say thank you to everybody coming here. Thank you everybody. 'I can't believe this. I think I am dreaming. Maybe it's true. "Thank you to my parents, manager Victoria and girlfriend, WST and CBSA academy.' Xintong only returned from a Advertisement It saw him have his professional status revoked, meaning he technically won at the Crucible as an amateur. World Snooker Championship 2025 THE World Snooker Championship has concluded after a thrilling final! Follow all the reaction with SunSport's live blog of the World Snooker Championship Latest News Snooker Explained FULL results for 2025 How much prize money was won? Who were the BBC snooker presenters and pundits? What is on Zhao Xintong's bow tie? After coming through four rounds of qualifying then sweeping away the rest of the field, Xintong picked up a winner's cheque for £500,000. He also rises to No11 in the world rankings - but But there was clearly no hard feelings from Williams. Advertisement The Welshman was glowing in his praise for Xintong at the end of the final. He said: "What a potter he is over there, I'm glad I will be too old when he's dominating the game. 'I have nothing but admiration for what he has done, having come through the qualifiers. 'He hasn't played for two years, bashed Ronnie up, bashed me up, bashed everybody up. Advertisement 'There's a new superstar of the game and he's over there." The finalists then posed for a 6 Williams hilariously pretended to punch Xintong afterwards Credit: X @VICS_SNOOKER 6 Xintong put on a superb performance in the final Credit: PA Advertisement 6 He beat Mark Williams 18-12 in the one-sided final Credit: Reuters 6 Xintong became the first man from Asia to be crowned world champion Credit: PA
The Irish Sun
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Mark Williams downs Guinness and shots until early hours of morning after World Snooker Championship final defeat
SNOOKER icon Mark Williams celebrated the end of the World Championship by drinking Guinness and downing shots late into the night. The Welshman Advertisement 2 Mark Williams celebrated the end of the World Snooker Championship at an after party Credit: @markwil147 2 The Welshman shared a picture of a tray of shots on social media Credit: @markwil147 And despite losing, he made the most of the occasion at the after party. Williams shared a picture of himself with a pint of Guinness in each hand after the event. He later posted an image of a tray of shots with a caption that read: "Last one I'm off to bed." The 50-year-old Advertisement READ MORE IN SNOOKER He even compared him to a young Ronnie O'Sullivan. Williams said: "He's close to as good to watch as "He just walks around the table as if he's just walking to go to the toilet or something. "He's just strolling. Pots from anywhere. Walks around not a care in the world. Advertisement Most read in Snooker CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS "Two minutes later he's on 65. Gee whizz! He's got to sixty like that. Frightening. "He goes for his shots and he got most of them in the final. Really tough shots. BBC World Snooker Championship commentator brutally shut down live on air by Shaun Murphy in 'very awkward' exchange "They don't go in all the time and when they don't go in it looks a bit erratic. Advertisement "But when they go in, you don't want to be on the other side of him, that's for sure."
The Irish Sun
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Like a young Ronnie O'Sullivan' – Mark Williams pays tribute to ‘frightening' Zhao Xintong after stunning Crucible win
SNOOKER icon Mark Williams compared new world champion Zhao Xintong to a "young Ronnie O'Sullivan" following his Crucible win on Monday. 3 Mark Williams praised Zhao Xintong following the 28-year-old's World Snooker Championship win Credit: Reuters 3 Zhao became the first player from China to win the world title on Monday Credit: Getty 3 Xhao was compared to a young Ronnie O'Sullivan Credit: Getty In doing so, he became the first player from China to win the title. The Welshman said: "He's close to as good to watch as "He just walks around the table as if he's just walking to go to the toilet or something. "He's just strolling. Pots from anywhere. Walks around not a care in the world. "Two minutes later he's on 65. Gee whizz! He's got to sixty like that. Frightening. "He goes for his shots and he got most of them in the final. Really tough shots. "They don't go in all the time and when they don't go in it looks a bit erratic. But when they go in, you don't want to be on the other side of him, that's for sure." Most read in Snooker CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Asked if Zhao could match the numbers achieved by O'Sullivan, Williams continued: "No. I don't think anyone will ever challenge them records because the standard is too good to get that many Worlds and Masters and UKs, it's too tough. "Who knows? But it will be highly unlikely." BBC World Snooker Championship commentator brutally shut down live on air by Shaun Murphy in 'very awkward' exchange Until September last year, Zhao He did NOT fix a result himself but an independent commission found 'he was a party to another player' fixing two snooker matches. In a separate charge, Zhao was found to have 'bet on snooker matches in breach of the rules' between September 2019 and December 2022. Yet 'following early admissions' and by showing 'genuine remorse for his actions' a 30-month suspension was reduced to 20 months, the lightest ban of all the ten cueists involved. Williams praised Zhao for his triumphant return to the sport following his ban. He continued: "To do what he's done, he's been out for two years, come back on the Q Tour, pretty much won every game. Read more on the Irish Sun "Gone to qualifying, bashed everyone up. Come here and bashed everyone up in the main tournament. "It's an incredible achievement. It's unbelievable. I haven't got enough nice words to say about him. He's brilliant to watch, pots for fun, makes breaks and good luck to him." World Snooker Championship 2025 THE World Snooker Championship has concluded after a thrilling final! Follow all the reaction with SunSport's live blog of the World Snooker Championship Latest News Snooker Explained FULL results for 2025 How much prize money was won? Who were the BBC snooker presenters and pundits? What is on Zhao Xintong's bow tie?
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
‘Never change' say fans as Mark Williams spotted ‘punching' Zhao Xintong after losing World Snooker Championship final
MARK WILLIAMS has been urged to "never change" after fans saw his cheeky post-World Snooker Championship final snap with Zhao Xintong. The Welsh wizard lost the final of the Crucible tournament on Monday night to Zhao, who made history by becoming China 's first snooker world champion. 3 But Williams was in a somewhat jovial mood after missing out on the trophy, posing for a snap with his conqueror after the match. And he jokingly pretended to punch the Chinese 'Cyclone', raising his fist to his face as they posed for a snap. Snooker fans loved the sportsmanship from Williams, with one saying: "Mark taking it well. Another said: "Love this. Mark Williams is a class act. And Zhao, what a champion." And another said: "Great character, always liked Willo." One remarked: "You just can't not love Mark. What a fella." Fan favourite Williams, 50, said of his Crucible run: "I think it's been a brilliant tournament for me. 'The support I have had from the crowd over the last two weeks have been unbelievable. 'What a potter he is over there, I'm glad I will be too old when he;s dominating the game. BBC World Snooker Championship commentator brutally shut down live on air by Shaun Murphy in 'very awkward' exchange 'I have nothing but admiration for what he has done, having come through the qualifiers. 'He hasn't played for two years, bashed Ronnie up, bashed me up, bashed everybody up. 'There's a new superstar of the game and here's over there. 'Let's see where I am in the ranking at 60. I am still playing quite good stuff. Even though it's a bit blurry. "What I can say, the night belongs to him and congratulations. 'It was unbelievable, the reception I have had all week, but tonight it was special. "Everybody was on their feet and it was like a tear to the eye.' 3
