Whether you like the ending or not, what a redemption story that is. Zhao Xintong, champion of the world – words we always expected to hear, though perhaps not in 2025. We’ll be hearing them plenty over the next decade or two, but for now, that’s another season in the books; it’s been a belter, likewise this tournament, as it always is. Thanks for your company and comments, sorry i couldn’t use them all; well done Zhao Xintong, and peace out; any idea what on earth we do tomorrow?
Zhao Xintong beats Mark Williams 18-12 to become China’s first world snooker champion – as it happened
Zhao Xintong survived a spirited fightback from Mark Williams to win his and Asia’s first world championship
Updated
Mon 5 May 2025 21.57 CEST
First published on Mon 5 May 2025 13.30 CEST
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“People nobody dislikes” says Tom Atkins. “REM? I once listened to a podcast where they had a guest who claimed to hate 'Nightswimming but I could tell his heart wasn’t really in it.”
I love REM, my first favourite band, but I don’t love Nightswimming. I do, though, know someone who doesn’t like them; naturally, i shun him.
Slowly, he lifts it shoulder-high, then gives it a little kiss. You can tell he’s imagined this moment because he’s so measured; you can’t be that good without knowing you’re that good, and the rest of the tour should look out.
Mark collects his runners-up medal and cheque, to rapturous reception. Now here comes Zhao Xintong to collect the trophy…
Haze has learnt the Mandarin for congrats – that’s nice. “I can’t believe that,” says Zhao of his achievement. “I can’t believe what I do … I’m very exciting, thanks you.”
“I’m so nervous tonight,” he says, talking about the pressure Mark put him under. “Yeah, he is the best.”
Told he’s been playing for 29 days, he’s asked hoew tired he is; “Nah, I’m not tired,” he says. And how will he celebrate? “Have a good drink tonight”; the crowd cheer.
Finally, Haze asks him about winning the biggun so soon after coming back, and he explains that’s why he can’t believe it. He feels like he’s dreaming.
Oh, not finally: here comes the question that might make him greet, about his mum and dad watching in Xi An, along with 150 million others. What’s his message for them? “Thank you,” also to his girlfriend, his coach, World Snooker, and the academy at which he practises.
He knows he was born to do this, and I’d be absolutely staggered were he not to do it again, more than once.
“It’s been a brilliant tournament for me,” says Mark, thanking the crowd for their support. “But what a potter he is over there,” he says, adding that he’s come through the qualifiers, “bashed me up, bashed everyone up … There’s a new superstar of the game, he’s over there.”
Haze, though, isn’t letting him off the hook with that. She tells Mark he’s in the top 16 as per his ambition at 50 – he’s there at no 3. “Tell you what, let’s see where I am in the rankings at 6o, is it?” he says.
He’s booked in for laser eye surgery, he reminds us, but he’s playing well enough to rethink; “one more question “, says Hazel Columbine, and here it comes:
“There were tears in your eyes when you walked down the stairs tonight. Tell me about the ovation that you had from everyone in this room for yuour achievements. how much did it touch you"?” And of course she tosses in mentions of his mates Ray Reardon and Terry Griffiths, no longer with us; he’s not having it.
Zhao is so calm it’s incredible. He smiles, but he knew that one day this’d be his and he knew that today it’d be his. He drapes himself in the China flag, now here’s Haze to make Mark cry.
Zhao Xintong beats Mark J Williams 18-12! He is the 2025 world champion, the first Asian to claim that honour!
Did you feel that tremor? 1.4 billion perople are buzzing off Zhao Xintong, the champion of the world! Well done, old mate, well done.
Williams 12-17 Zhao (8-72) Zhao makes it safe. He is the world champion, and how he’s earnt it. He’s been wonderful from start to finish, his joyous, bouncing snooker compelling and affirming. This is just the start.
Williams 12-17 Zhao (8-63) Everything Zhao’s ever done, every minute of practise, every sacrifice made, every punishment endured, has been in order to reach this moment. Real talk, he’s a superstar who, even if he somehow succumbs from here, will win one of these one day, but that won’t be on his mind now. This is the thing, the only thing, and he’s two pots away from being champion of the world! What a performance this has been; what a performance this is.
Williams 12-17 Zhao (8-24) A red dropped to left corner, via rest, and he’s on to the black … buy oh Mark. Oh maaaate! He misses the pot and will he get back to the table? Maximum concentration time for Zhao; history is tantalising him, the gallery of the immortals within reach. Can he hold it down? I’m bricking it from 200 miles away.
Williams 12-17 Zhao (1-23) A pink faded to middle, it hits the near jaw … and because he’s played it dead slowly, it drops. But every shot, he’s chasing, and we know that when that happens, a miss tends to eventuate; a lovely blue looks to have him in prime position, but the white's final roll means he’s a little hampered. No matter, he sends the next ball down anyroad up, but a poor positional shot on the pink means a red to the green bag, at pace … and he doesn’t get all that close. Chance for Mark!
Williams 12-17 Zhao (0-1) Zhao catches the jaws of left corner seeking a route back to baulk and does well to leave nothing; next go, he tries for a plant – confidently, given he opens the pack and leaves the white shy of the line – but can Mark snick to right corner? He cannot, and this is Zhao’s first proper chance to get this won.
Off we go again…
Mid-sesh email: Bob Adamson returns to defend his honour, after which we’ll knock this riff on head: “George Neal is partially correct in my experience. Of course, I am generalising about a country of 1.4 million people and variations in practice do exist. People I know who have been friends for decades still call each other by their full name, e.g. ‘Han Meimei, or ‘Lao Han’ (‘Old Han’). They don’t use ‘Meimei’ on its own, although family members and some friends would. As a teacher, Han Meimei would also be called ‘Han Laoshi’ (Teacher Han) in formal settings.
What a joy that mini-session was. Much as I’m excited to see Zhao win, I don’t need to see Mark get clattered like it’s nothing. But beyond that, watching him play is always a pleasure, and given he’s now 50, we need to take especial care to enjoy it as much as we possibly can. An easy task, but still one incumbent upon us.
Williams 12-17 Zhao A missed red means no ton, but the champion that is Mark J Williams peels off four frames in under an hour; you never know! See you in 15…
Williams 11-17 Zhao (66-0) Can Mark get by the pink to the next red? Yes he can, the crowd whooping their appreciation, before a red with the rest … and again, it’s dispatched with relaxed alacrity. A green cut to middle is next … and it’s there … meaning red to corner for the frame, and down it goes! Four frames on the spin for the old master, who is refusing to sit down, nailing a vintage double to make double-sure!
Williams 11-17 Zhao (38-0) …and it’s there, but which colour will he go after? He selects blue, shoved to left corner from close to it, and this is already a really good break, so many nasty shots navigated with typical equilibrium. This is joyous to behold, a genius that cannot be constrained by nonsense like the score.
“Don’t know what did for a 20-month ban but why isn’t it for life, if bad enough.”
Scroll down to find out!
Williams 11-17 Zhao (25-0) Further excellence from Mark, who opens the pack and is on one. But he’s hampered by the pink, so has a look at a plant before returning to the original ball, then picking a third, to be addressed via the rest. One good pot and the frame should be his…
Williams 11-17 Zhao (6-0) Is Mark’s improved form having an impact? Zhao refuses a pot that’s easier than others he’s taken on tonight then Mark has a go at a long one to right corner, rattles the jaws, and the ball zips along the top cushion to pot a different red! In the afternoon, those were all going the other way and Zhao made sure to take advantage – as Mark must now. For this session, he’s at 96% pot-success.
Williams 11-17 Zhao A missed pink to the green bag means no ton, but that’s three out of three for Mark tonight, and he needs one more for mini-sesh sweep.
Williams 10-17 Zhao (96-6) There aren’t many it’s more enjoyable to watch that Mark, whose unique creativity and demeanour fulfil that impossible brief of appealing to everyone. I previously tried to think if there’s anything in the world that no one dislikes and came up with Fleetwood Mac, but Mark J Williams might just be another. Any more for any more?
Williams 10-17 Zhao (51-6) Mark removes balls like he’s been doing it all his life. You’ve got admire his refusal to simply accept defeat, and he’ll be smarting he couldn’t find this level yesterday – though we do have to say that game-state has lots to do with what we’re seeing here.
Williams 10-17 Zhao (36-6) Off a red with the resrt, Mark stuns across the face of the table for the black, lovely shot, and this should be another one back.
Williams 10-17 Zhao (19-6) Two reds removed and the black goes to both corners; there are plenty of reds now loose too. There’s every chance this is a third frame on the spin for Mark.
Williams 10-17 Zhao (1-6) Mark refuses a long red… only to attack a double. But the red pops back out of the bag like it’s on Stay Alive, but has he left one? Just about, a tight cut to the green bag which Zhao might refuse in different circumstances, but not with a world title there to win. He pots it well too, adds a nasty blue … then misses the next ball to right xorner. What can Mark make of what he’s been left?
“The thing you have posted about Chinese people not calling him ‘Xintong’ is out and out tripe, reckons George Neal. “That’s his name, of course people call him that. The only time you’d call someone by their surname is if they are a doctor, teacher, etc.”
Liveblogger?
Williams 10-17 Zhao He’ll need another three or four to get Zhao feeling anything, but it’s great to see a legend of the game refusing to get battered.
Williams 9-17 Zhao (62-1) Mark secures another frame. Zhao does not looked mithered.
Williams 9-17 Zhao (50-1) Mark opens reds but lands on nowt – the balls haven’t run for him today – so it’s back to baulk. And, with few if any safety shots available, Zhao is pushed into taking on a pot, looking to snap the top-most red from middle to right corner; again he doesn’t just pot it, he clobbers it into the leather. He can’t though, add the green, so Mark floats another nice one to corner, and from here, he should clinch another frame back. As I type, though, he lands the wrong side of the blue, so punches it to middle, travels in and out of baulk … and he’s nicely on the next ball That disappears too, but from here, things become more difficult.
Williams 9-17 Zhao (24-0) Mark sizes up a longun off Zhao’s break … and smokes a beauty into right corner! His second red looks bound for the top jaw of middle, but I think he’s played it slowly enough so that it’ll drop ... and it does. The crowd love it, obviously – they love Mark, who is lovable, but they also love snook and what to see as much of it as they can. Meantime, a blue clobbered to middle takes him down and up the table, he rattles the pack but is he on one? Er, not really, but can he manufacture a potting angle by raising the butt of the cue and jabbing down on one? Of course he can. He’s in!
Williams 9-17 Zhao Typically davkanik defiance from Mark: a 101 ands the frame. Then, during the break, Hazel notes he looked emotional: stand by for her to ask him as many questions as necessary to get him greeting once this is all over.
Williams 8-17 Zhao (74-30) A blue leaves Zhao needing a snooker and a red, gently snicked across the nap to left-centre, makes sure of the frame. Can Mark parlay run into ton?
Williams 8-17 Zhao (47-30) Mark removes all remaining reds from the business end, then repairs back to baulk to sort the remaining three. He’s taking them nicely, though there were no demons at the outset.
Williams 8-17 Zhao (26-30) Mark closes the gap, and there are no difficult balls; this should be one frame back
Williams 8-17 Zhao (1-30) With the white left above the black, our players begin sending reds to baulk, and when Zhao chances one to middle – “a 17-8 shot,” muses JV – he doesn’t get close, leaving a chance for Mark.
“The boy is my absolute hero,” says Geoffrey Brooking of Zhao. “I knew all about him four weeks ago when the qualifying started. He ran riot on the amateur tour and 25/1 was just massive. It’s the best £200 bet in my life. I told Fouldsy on day one it was a cracking bet and it’s proven so.”
Big G is getting them in!
Williams 8-17 Zhao (0-30) No he couldn’t: it’s soon down for blue, and this is shaping up into a quick kill, a nice little kiss liberating a red … but he can’t snick home the cut-back. He does, though, get cover on the ball he missed from the black, so all Mark can do is play safe.
Williams 8-17 Zhao (0-16) Immediately, Zhao goes hard at a longun to right corner; the ball leaps out of the jaws, and there’s nothing left on. So Mark plays safe, leaves one to the same bag … and this time it’s beautifully slotted. A black follows, then a red, then a black, and he … he couldn’t, could he?