ZHAO XINTONG was only able to qualify for this year’s Crucible because he admitted early guilt over the part he played in the sport’s biggest corruption probe.
The former UK Champion was one of ten Chinese stars banned from the baize in January 2023.
ReutersXintong Zhao faces Mark Williams in the World Snooker Championship final[/caption]
PAThe Chinese cueist was banned for his involvement in a major corruption probe[/caption]
X/ ronnieo147Xintong grew up idolising Ronnie O’Sullivan… then beat him in the Crucible semi-final[/caption]
Two cheats, ringleaders Liang Wenbo and Li Hang, were banned for life – with eight others suspended for a total of 27 YEARS – in the biggest match-fixing scandal in British sport.
Yet Xintong, 28, did not fix a match himself and had been compromised by his close relationship to match-thrower Yan Bingtao.
The pair had been friends since meeting in Beijing as teenagers, lived together in Sheffield, trained at the same academy, had the same agent and Xintong considered Yan as a brother.
Appearing in person in front of an independent disciplinary commission in London, the Cyclone accepted that in March 2022 he was a party to another player fixing two snooker matches.
The two incidents occurred at the Welsh Open and Turkish Open and involved former Masters champion Bingtao.
Xintong, a former top-ten player, attempted to dissuade Bingtao, 25, from match fixing on both occasions with no success.
The commission claimed his involvement was “limited to placing bets for Yan through Li, whereby he became liable as a party to the two match fixes”.
In a separate charge, Xintong was found to have “bet on snooker matches in breach of the rules” between September 2019 and December 2022.
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Xintong did not have a betting account and would instead go to Li to place bets during the Covid pandemic.
Initially he was fined £7,500 in costs and slapped with a two-year, six-month suspension, which would have meant he would have been banned until July 2025.
Yet “following early admissions” and showing “genuine remorse for his actions” this was reduced to 20 months, the lightest ban of all the ten cueists.
And that meant he was allowed to play again, albeit on the amateur circuit, from September 2024 onwards.
Xintong ended up winning four successive Q Tour events and as a result, he secured a two-year professional Tour Card from next season.
And more significantly, he booked a spot in last month’s qualifying phase for the 2025 World Championship, which saw him win four matches, including two by a 10-8 scoreline.
Incredibly, he has won 46 out of 48 matches in nine months since his return – but none of this would have been possible if he had failed to demonstrate contrition during the liability and sanctions hearings.
Asked if he felt like he had a second chance in the sport, Xintong replied: “Yeah, yeah. I will never do it again.”
Xintong added: “I practise every day and try my best on the table. I think I can be better. To get to the Crucible was very hard and very difficult.
World Snooker Championship 2025
WE are now into the final days of what has been a THRILLING World Snooker Championship!
A new world champion will be crowned this year after Kyren Wilson crashed out in the first round.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was eyeing a record eighth world title but crashed out at the hands of the brilliant Zhao Xintong – who reached the final qualifying as an amateur after his ban.
The Chinese cueist takes on veteran Mark Williams in a blockbuster Crucible final after the Welshman knocked out World No1 Judd Trump.
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“(Last year) I watched the match every time. I kept up the practice.”
Angry Chinese chiefs chose to add an extra ten months to Xintong’s reduced ban which means he cannot play in his homeland until July 1, 2025.
Yet he will be eligible to appear at the Shanghai Masters, one of the richest events on the World Snooker Tour calendar, that same month.
WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: “It’s important to talk about this and very openly.
“We are not a sport that has shied away from our problems.
“We are a sport that has gone publicly and said: ‘We have got a problem – we are going to clean it up.’ And we did.
“Zhao served his time. He’s back here. He has paid his fine. And he has also done the right thing. He was full of remorse from day one. He has made public apologies.
“He has gone out in public in China and made apologies. And he’s followed a route trying to work his way back into the sport. Been very dedicated. Kept his head down.
“That is a man prepared to the finest standard, he’s prepared his mind and prepared to face the public again.”
PAXintong is banned from playing in his homeland[/caption]
ReutersHe is hoping to become the first Chinese world champion[/caption]
