 Zhao at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1997 Xi’an, Shaanxi, China | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport country |  China | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Cyclone[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional | 2016–2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 6 (May 2022) | |||||||||||||||||
| Century breaks | 138 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Xintong won the 2021 UK Championship, but received a 20-month ban from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association after committing offences relating to betting on snooker in 2023. This ban expired on 1 September 2024.
Zhao attracted attention as a teenager, with a number of top players commenting on his potential in the sport. He joined the professional tour in 2016 and won his first ranking title and first Triple Crown title at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final. With this win, he entered the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time and became eligible for his first Masters.[2] He won his second ranking title at the 2022 German Masters when he whitewashed Yan Bingtao 9–0 in the final, becoming only the third player, after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson, to win a two-session ranking final without conceding a frame.[3]
In January 2023, the sport's governing body suspended Zhao as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players.[4] He was subsequently charged with being concerned in fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour and betting on snooker. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, Zhao was banned from professional competition until 1 September 2024.[5]
Since his ban has ended, Zhao has competed on the Q Tour in a bid to regain professional status.[6] In October 2024, he won Q Tour Event 3 held in Stockholm, and became the first player to record a maximum break on the Q Tour.[7] The following month he repeated the feat, making another maximum break on his run to win Event 4 held in Manchester.[8]
- ^ "Zhao Xintong". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Zhao beats Brecel to win UK Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Zhao Xintong wraps up whitewash victory over Yan Bingtao to secure German Masters victory in Berlin". Eurosport. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ "UK Championship winner Zhao latest to be suspended". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "WPBSA Statement 6 June 2023". WPBSA. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Zhao set for comeback after match-fixing scandal". BBC Sport. 10 September 2024. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Zhao wins in Stockholm and makes 147". World Snooker Tour. 6 October 2024. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Zhao Completes Q Tour Double". 11 November 2024. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024.