Zhao Xintong
Zhao at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1997 Bao'an, Shenzhen, China | |||||||||||||||||
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| Sport country | China | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Cyclone | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional | 2016–2023, 2025–present | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 5 (February 2026) | |||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 5 (as of 2 March 2026) | |||||||||||||||||
| Maximum breaks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Century breaks | 220 (as of 1 March 2026) | |||||||||||||||||
| Tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| World Champion | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Zhao Xintong | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 赵心童 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 趙心童 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Zhao Xintong (Chinese: 赵心童; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player from Bao'an, Shenzhen, in Guangdong. He is the reigning World Snooker Champion and the sport's first World Champion from Asia.
Zhao first turned professional in the 2016–17 season, aged 19. He won his first ranking title and first Triple Crown title at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final, after which he entered the top 16 of the snooker world rankings for the first time. The following month, he won the 2022 German Masters with a 9–0 whitewash over Yan Bingtao, becoming the third player—after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson—to win a two-session ranking final without conceding a frame. In January 2023, he was among a group of Chinese players suspended by the WPBSA and charged with match-fixing offences. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, he was banned from competitive snooker for 20 months, as a result of which he lost his professional status on the World Snooker Tour.
After his ban expired, Zhao competed on the amateur Q Tour, winning four consecutive events and finishing top of the 2024–25 Q Tour Europe rankings. He qualified for the 2024 UK Championship but lost his first-round match to Shaun Murphy. After qualifying for the main stage of the 2025 World Championship, he progressed to the final, where he defeated Mark Williams 18–12 to win his first world title and second Triple Crown title. The first player to win a ranking event while competing as an amateur, he re-entered the world rankings at number 11 following the tournament, securing his return to the professional tour the following season.
Zhao subsequently won the non-ranking 2025 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship and made his first professional maximum break at the 2026 Championship League. In February 2026, he claimed back-to-back ranking titles at the 2026 World Grand Prix and the 2026 Players Championship, defeating Zhang Anda 10–6 and John Higgins 10–7 in the respective finals. He became the fourth player in professional snooker history to win his first five ranking finals, following Steve Davis, Williams, and Neil Robertson.