ZHAO XINTONG has become the first Chinese cueist to win the World Snooker Championship.
The 28-year-old beat three-time Crucible winner Mark Williams 18-12 in a thrilling final.
Zhao had a 17-8 lead heading into the final session, but Williams won the opening four frames on the bounce to make it nervy.
The Chinese potter held his nerve and won the 30th frame of a gruelling clash, hitting a break of 87 to secure the title.
Zhao's blossoming career was put on hold in January 2023 when he was suspended in connection with a high-profile match-fixing investigation.
The WPBSA found him guilty of match manipulation and betting between 2019 and 2022, but exonerated him of actively fixing his own matches.
The prominent issue wrapped snooker, when ten Chinese players were accused of various levels of match-fixing, and Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were eventually banned from the sport for life.
The WPBSA disciplinary committee that conducted the hearing described former world No. 11 Liang's attitude as "particularly disgraceful".
The two highest-profile figures involved in the scandal were 2021 Masters winner Yan Bingtao, who is presently serving a five-year ban until December 2027.
And Zhao, who was ranked ninth in the world when his suspension began, having added the 2022 German Masters title to his stunning UK Championship victory.
Zhao, who did not personally toss a match, acknowledged allegations of assisting another player in rigging two matches and betting on matches himself, for which he received a 20-month sentence - reduced from the initial 30.
He returned to competition on the amateur Q Tour in September, winning tournaments in Manchester, Sweden, Austria, and Belgium, as well as qualifying for the UK Championship, where he lost to Shaun Murphy in the opening round.
“Two years ago I made a little mistake and now I come back, so I know how important snooker is for me,” said Zhao after beating Walden to secure his spot at the UK Championship last year.
“I want to come back to the snooker table and get trophies. These are very big lessons for me, it makes me appreciate snooker more."
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