Zhao Xintong has revealed that he continued to practice four times per week when he was serving his suspension for violating betting and match-fixing rules. The World Snooker Championship winner was sidelined for 20 months after being caught up in the 2023 scandal along with nine other Chinese players.

With “The Cyclone’s” victory demonstrating China's growing power in the sport, chair of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Jason Ferguson insists that snooker’s inclusion in the Olympic programme is now realistic.

Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.