World Champion Zhao Xintong aims to join snooker greats in elite club with title double feat

Zhao was very impressive as he defeated three former world champions - Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, and then Neil Robertson in the final - on his way to lifting the trophy at last week’s Riyadh Season Championship and scooping the top prize of £250,000.

China’s and Asia’s first world professional snooker champion, Zhao endured a frustrating start to the season during which he failed to win more than two consecutive matches in his first seven tournament outings.

But November has been a reenergising month for the 28-year-old as he built momentum with semi-final finishes in back-to-back weeks at the International Championship and Champion of Champions before his Saudi success the following week.

Seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry - who was on media duties in Riyadh - sang the praises of Zhao, calling him the best ball-striker in snooker he has ever seen and labelling the Far East superstar as the man to beat at the Barbican Centre for the UK Championship.

It’s a little bit surreal to think that just 15 months ago Zhao returned to the sport after his ban and had to start at the bottom of the ladder in the amateur ranks.

Playing in snooker clubs on the Q Tour, he breezed through that second tier gauntlet to win back his professional tour card, and an invite to the World Championship qualifiers. The rest is history.

His comeback to big stage snooker actually arrived at last year’s UK Championship when having been invited through winning a Q Tour event he navigated four qualifying rounds before being pipped by Murphy 6-5 in the main draw first round.

Zhao seeking to join unique World and UK title club

Zhao is one of 14 players in professional snooker history to have won the sport’s two most prestigious ranking event titles - the World Championship and the UK Championship.

In January, will he try to become a ‘Career Triple Crown’ winner by securing the Masters title for the first time - he has only featured in snooker’s top invitational event once before.

The big career breakthrough that Zhao was looking for came at the 2021 UK Championship when he went all the way to the title match - with both finalists being outside the top 16 - and defeated Luca Brecel 10-5 to claim his maiden ranking event crown.

With those fonds memories, the knowledge of how to win this event, and his recent glory in Riyadh, in the coming days Zhao is aiming to join an exclusive club of players who have won both the World and UK titles within the same calendar year.

Only six cueists are a member of this elite party - Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, John Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Mark Selby.

Davis was the first to do this unique double in 1984, and repeated the feat in 1984 and 1987.

Hendry achieved the World-UK calendar duo on four occasions: 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996 - the only player to have completed it in consecutive years, yet alone three in-a-row.

John Parrott (1991), John Higgins (1998), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2001), and Mark Selby (2016) have all done it once.

Of course, should Zhao lift the UK trophy for a second time on the evening of Sunday 7th December, he would also add his name to the roll of honour of multiple-time UK Champions, becoming the 11th on that list.

Zhao begins his latest UK Championship pursuit against compatriot Long Zehuang on Monday afternoon in York. You can view the draw and schedule here.

There are 12 Chinese players in the last 32 of the 2025 UK Championship - a new record for that stage of the competition.

In terms of winning the UK and World Snooker Championship titles within the same season, six players have done this: Steve Davis (1980/81, 1986/87, 1987/88), Stephen Hendry (1989/90, 1994/95, 1995/96), Mark Williams (1999/2000, 2002/03), Ronnie O’Sullivan (2007/08), John Higgins (2010/11), and Mark Selby (2016/17)