1 week ago
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Reigning world champion Zhao Xintong made a superb start to his UK Championship campaign with a dominant first-round victory over compatriot Long Zehuang.
Zhao, 28, made snooker history in May when he became the first Chinese player to win the World Championship, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield.
On day three at the York Barbican, Zhao impressed throughout his 6-1 triumph over 28-year-old UK debutant Long, making breaks of 107, 68, 51, 59, 52 and 72.
Long, 54th in the world rankings, had to battle through three qualifying rounds to get to York and avoided a 6-0 defeat with a fortunate pot on the pink in the sixth frame, but could not fight back against Zhao.
Twelve of the 32 players in the draw are from China, the highest number in a Triple Crown (UK Championship, World Championship and Masters) event, and Zhao could meet another Chinese player in the last 16 if Zhang Anda beats England's Gary Wilson on Monday evening (19:00 GMT).
'People take pictures of me at the airport' - how life changed for China's first world champion
Zhao has had a rollercoaster few years after he announced himself to the snooker world in 2021 by winning the UK Championship title, beating Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final in York.
But then Zhao was one of 10 Chinese players to be banned in a corruption scandal.
Zhao did not directly throw a match but was initially suspended for two and a half years, reduced to one year and eight months after his early admissions and guilty plea. He accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.
He made his return to top-level snooker at the UK Championship last year and then produced a sensational nine-match run from the first qualifying round of the World Championship to the Crucible final before making history as the first ever Chinese world champion.
After his win over Long, Zhao spoke of how his life had changed since then.
"I'm trying to learn and now being world champion is very different, you need to do more things," he said. "There's a lot of pressure and that's a big problem for me so I'm learning how to enjoy the table and when I win any match I'm just very happy.
"This is my first time to be famous and I'm very busy, I don't have time to practise but now I'm trying to get the balance and trying to get better. I'm not sure this is all real!"
Zhao is hoping to having another extended run at York Barbican, a venue that will always be close to his heart.
He added: "I have good memories here as it was my first championship - Barbican is my lucky place so I enjoyed that today. Now I've just started, I've not finished, so I can get better in the future in every area.
"It is a big difference now when I go back to China, everybody knows about me and when I was at the airport everyone takes pictures. I'm definitely more nervous [when playing] and I'm starting to learn how to play under big pressure."
It is not just Zhao who feels the nerves when he plays, as he revealed his family were so tense they could not watch his World Championship final.
"When I played the final, they turned off their phone and went on a city walk because there was big pressure," said Zhao. "They did not want to look at the TV, three hours later they turned on the phone to get the message [he was world champion].
"When I went back home they gave me a big hug. In 20 years it was my first hug - this feeling was wonderful."
There are 12 Chinese players in the UK Championship - the highest number at a Triple Crown event - with at least five in the last 16, and Zhao hopes he can inspire other players, just as Ding Junhui inspired him after winning the China Open in 2005.
"It's very good for Chinese players and Chinese snooker now is very strong," added Zhao. "I won the World Championship and that gives everybody the confidence and helps them get stronger.
"When Ding won the China Open I was eight and wasn't ready to play snooker but it [Ding becoming champion] gave me a different feeling and now being world champion is amazing."
