After 20 turbulent months that included a suspension and a fight to regain amateur status, Zhao Xintong has scripted a redemptive chapter by reaching his first Crucible quarter final.
The 2019 UK champion completed a 13-10 win over fellow Chinese cueist Lei Peifan, pulling clear with successive runs of 89 and 76 after the final interval.
Earlier in the week, seven time champion Stephen Hendry tipped Zhao as “good enough to win the whole thing,” a view that looked prescient as the 22 year old struck the ball with trademark fluency.
The result also secures Zhao a two year main tour card irrespective of qualifying results later this summer, a significant relief for a player who was ranked sixth in the world before his ban.
In victory, Zhao thanked his family for “keeping faith when I could not even enter a club,” and dedicated the win to his mother watching from Xi’an.
His quarter final assignment is Chris Wakelin, another man in form, but many neutrals now see Zhao as the most credible threat to the established elite.
