Zhao Xintong one win away from World Snooker Championship qualification and Crucible return following ban

Former UK Champion Zhao is now one more win away from returning to the Crucible Theatre for the first time since 2022 following his ban from the sport that expired last September.

The 28-year-old will face world number 28 Elliot Slessor on Judgement Day this coming Tuesday, with the winner going into the 32-player main draw where they will be randomly drawn against one of the world's top 16 cueists in the opening round.

Slessor defeated three-time ranking event winner Marco Fu 10-6 in their penultimate qualifying round tie.

Due to coming top of the Q Tour rankings earlier this season - where he won four consecutive events on snooker's secondary circuit - Zhao will once again be a fully fledged professional player from next season.

However, the former top 16 star was given an invitation to the qualifying rounds of this year's blue riband event for his Q Tour achievements. A few months ago, Zhao was also invited to the UK Championship qualifiers where he won four consecutive matches to reach the main venue stages in York. At the Barbican on his television return he was ousted 6-5 by Shaun Murphy.

Zhao has had the same equation at the English Institute of Sport, starting in the first qualifying round and requiring to navigate four rounds to make it to the Crucible.

The two-time ranking event champion began his title tilt with a 10-3 victory over Hong Kong's Ka Wai Cheung, where he compiled four century breaks, including a 141 in the final frame.

In the second qualifying round against compatriot Long Zehuang, Zhao had a far tougher time as he trailed 5-4 after the opening session.

A five-frame winning streak for Zhao turned proceedings around and put him one away from victory, although he was made to sweat when Wuhan Open semi-finalist Long took the next three frames before Zhao secured progression in frame 18 for a 10-8 win.

Against world number 37 Lyu, Zhao got off to a brilliant start as breaks of 108, 87 and 69 helped him establish a 5-1 advantage.

Lyu claimed the next two frames to reduce his arrears, but Zhao won the final frame of the morning session to head into the evening 6-3 up.

On resumption several hours later, Zhao registered runs of 90, 137, 59 and 116 as he took four of the five frames played to record a comfortable success.

Across his three matches in Sheffield this week, Zhao has fashioned nine centuries.

Although Zhao's professional tour card for next season is guaranteed, he is technically competing in this year's Championship as an amateur.

If Zhao were to defeat Slessor, he would be only the third amateur player in history to make the Crucible main draw.

James Cahill was the first in 2019, when he famously eliminated Ronnie O'Sullivan in round one in one of the tournament's biggest-ever shock results. Cahill was ousted 13-12 by Stephen Maguire in the next round.

The other player was Michael White who lost to Mark Williams 10-3 in round one in 2022.

Both Cahill and White had been professionals before, but didn't have a tour card at the time; the same position Zhao is now in.

Zhao is aiming to make the Crucible for the third time in his career. In 2019, he qualified and made his debut, losing 10-7 to Mark Selby in round one, having led 5-1.

He returned in 2022 where he was a Crucible seed for the first time in his career. Zhao defeated qualifier Jamie Clarke 10-2 before going out to Maguire 13-9 in round two.

Why did Zhao Xintong get banned from professional snooker?

Zhao was part of the Chinese match-fixing scandal that rocked professional snooker during the 2022/23 season.

He was one of 10 players who were suspended and then later banned from the sport, with differing punishments for those players handed out, depending on their part in it.

Of the punished players, Zhao - who was found not to have fixed matches himself - received the shortest ban. He was judged to have been 'a party to another player fixing two snooker matches' and that he 'bet on snooker matches in breach of the rules.'

Due to early admissions and a guilty plea for his offences, Zhao's initial ban was reduced to one year and eight months. This ban ran out on September 1st 2024.

For all the results and the full draw for the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds, please visit our information centre here.