Back Чжаа Сіньтун Byelorussian Zhao Xintong German Zhao Xintong Spanish Zhao Xintong Finnish Zhao Xintong French Zhao Xintong Italian Zhao Xintong Dutch Zhao Xintong Polish Zhao Xintong Portuguese Zhao Xintong Romanian
 Zhao at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1997 Xi’an, Shaanxi, China | |||||||||||||||||
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| Sport country |  China | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Cyclone[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional | 2016–2023, 2025– | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 6 (May 2022) | |||||||||||||||||
| Century breaks | 140 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese snooker player. Zhao 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. He secured his return to the World Snooker Tour for the 2025–26 season by topping the Q Tour Europe rankings list.
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]
After his ban ended, Zhao competed on the secondary Q Tour which serves as a qualification route to the main professional tour.[6] He won four straight events on the Q Tour between October 2024 and January 2025, thereby guaranteeing the top spot on the Q Tour Europe rankings list and securing his return to professional competition for the 2025–26 season.[13] He also became the first player to make a maximum break on the Q Tour, achieving the feat in Events 3 and 4.[14][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 Xintong Wins Q Tour Title in Sweden". WPBSA. 6 October 2024. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Zhao Completes Q Tour Double". World Snooker Tour. 11 November 2024. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Q Tour Hat-Trick For Zhao Xintong". WPBSA. 15 December 2024. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024.
- ^ "Zhao Xintong Completes Q Tour Quartet". WPBSA. 13 January 2025. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025.
- ^ "Zhao Xintong Secures World Snooker Tour Return". WPBSA. 11 January 2025. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025.
- ^ Clifford, Flo (11 January 2025). "Zhao Xintong secures return to World Snooker tour after 20-month ban". Eurosport.
- ^ [7][8][9][10][11][12]
- ^ "Zhao Xintong Hits Historic Q Tour Maximum in Stockholm". WPBSA. 5 October 2024. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024.