World Champion Zhao Xintong thrashes Ding Junhui in Chinese derby on home soil in Shanghai

Zhao is set to face Kyren Wilson in a two-session, best-of-19 frames semi-final on Saturday at the Luwan Gymnasium. The contest will bring together the winners of the last two World Championships.

On Wednesday, Zhao made his first outing of the new professional season - his debut match wearing the Crucible crown - where he won the final four frames in style to defeat world number 16 Chris Wakelin, 6-2.

That victory teed up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with fellow countryman Ding Junhui; China’s original snooker superstar trailblazer against the nation’s new history-making hero.

But if the fans wanted a close contest, they didn’t really get it, as the 28-year-old recorded a comfortable win.

Zhao asserted himself right from the off, crafting a break of 134 in the opening frame before a 53 helped him double his advantage.

Three-time UK Champion Ding - who ousted Zhang Anda in the previous round - got on the scoreboard in frame three with a run of 84, but was made to sit out the next as Zhao rattled in a 132 to go into the mid-session interval 3-1 ahead.

On resumption, Zhao strung together three more frames to reach the winning target, fashioning a 50 in frame six before signing off with a 118 in the seventh frame.

Having dropped just three frames from two matches, so far, Zhao has yet to be really pushed in this tournament, but surely he will face more pressure in his upcoming tie with world number two Wilson, who dispatched Ronnie O’Sullivan, 6-3, on the other table during Thursday evening’s session in the Far East.

A decade on from when he made his big breakthrough by winning this tournament as a qualifier (back when it was a ranking event), Wilson was also in a free-scoring mood as ended the campaign of the record five-time Shanghai Masters champion.

The opening mini-session between the two proved to be very eventful. O'Sullivan claimed the first frame with the aid of 54 before constructing a 56 in frame two to force a re-spotted black, although it was Wilson who sank it to level up at 1-1.

A 72 from Wilson in frame three left his opponent needing penalty points, but O'Sullivan carried on and got them, and went on to pinch the frame by a single point. Wilson quickly got over that disappointment with a 75 in frame four to essentially restore parity going into their mid-session interval.

A winner of four ranking titles last season whilst being the World Champion, Wilson returned after the break and won four of the next five frames - including the last three - along with chunky efforts of 111, 91, 83 and 109.

On a big stage, Wilson has now won his last three matches against O’Sullivan: 2021 UK Championship quarter-finals, 2024 Xi’an Grand Prix semi-finals, 2025 Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.

The semi-finals of this £825,000 invitational begin on Friday with an all-English affair between Mark Selby and Ali Carter.

In the other quarter-finals which took place on Thursday, Selby dethroned reigning champion Judd Trump, while ‘super sub’ Carter produced another comeback in denying Xiao Guodong.

Please visit our 2025 Shanghai Masters tournament information page here for the draw, results, format, match schedule, how to watch details and prize money payouts.