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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 Sun
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Who is snooker world champion Zhao Xintong's girlfriend?
ZHAO XINTONG is the king of the Crucible after beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the World Snooker Championship final. The 28-year-old became the first Chinese player and first amateur to lift the prestigious trophy in the Steel City. 3 Zhao won NINE successive ties, including four qualifiers, en route to victory in this year's thrilling tournament. The Chinese potter goes home with a cheque for a whopping £500,000 and moves up to 11th in the world rankings for next season. After his historic triumph, Zhao was seen celebrating alongside his girlfriend and the head of the Sheffield Snooker Academy, Victoria Shi. Who is Zhao Xintong's girlfriend? Very little is known about Zhao's girlfriend, but SunSport understands his partner is called Yiyi. The 28-year-old's other half was spotted at the table while the newly crowned world champion was posing for pictures with the trophy. 3 3 After his Crucible win, Zhao thanked his girlfriend and his parents in an emotional speech. The Chinese cueist said: "I can't believe this. Yes, I can't believe what I have done in this match. I'm very excited. Thank you. '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. 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.' Why did Zhao Xintong get banned from snooker? Zhao was tipped as one of the next stars to break into snooker's elite after winning the 2021 UK Championship and 2022 German Masters. But his career was put on hold 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. He accepted that he was a party to another player fixing two snooker contests on separate occasions in March 2022. The former UK Championship champion also bet on matches during a three-year period. And on top of his 20-month ban, Xintong also had to pay £7,500 in costs. Zhao will return to the pro tour next season and will be ranked 11th in the world after his Crucible win.
