Reclaiming the Crown: Zhao Xintong, the Snooker World Champion 2025
Zhao Xintong clinches World Snooker Championship title, cementing his status as a Century Talent.
It's about bloody time we talk about the bloody brilliant Zhao Xintong, the damned 28-year-old who swept the bloody Snooker World Championship 2025 off his feet, and not a moment too soon, if you ask me. Born on April 3, 1997, in the arsehole Xi'an, China, little is known (or much cared for, quite frankly) about his family – rumor has it that both his parents worked in a goddamn hospital and he was some sort of lonely only child.
At a tender age of eight, Zhao stumbled upon a snooker table in his godforsaken neighborhood and spent the majority of his time playing on it, much to the annoyance of the neighbors (who probably wished he'd stick to fucking up their yards instead). Eventually, he convinced his old man and ma' to buy him a table and set it up at home, and pathetically he spent even more time practicing, claiming he wanted to become a professional snooker player.
His efforts paid off, as in 2012, he began his amateur career at the age of 15 and started making a bloody name for himself. He demolished more experienced players like Xiao Guodong, Ken Doherty, and Steve Davis – the nerve of these pricks not knowing who the upcoming star was when they faced him! In 2013, he reached the bloody final of the World Amateur Championship, but lost to Zhuo Yuelong and missed out on a tour card. Boo-fucking-hoo.
He finally received a tour card in 2015, ironically. In the final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship, an amateur tournament, he lost to Pankaj Advani. Advani, showing more class than I've ever seen, declined the tour card, so Golddamn Zhao received a two-year permit to play on the professional tour.
His rise up the WST World Rankings was rocky, to say the least. He took part in many ranking events but couldn't make an impression. He lost his tour card after just two years and had to play the Q School to get back on the bloody tour.
He finally found his stride in 2018, making it to the semifinals of the China Championship and the quarterfinals of the Welsh Open. In the following years, Zhao climbed the ranks and made a name for himself, reaching the last 16 in many tournaments. He won his first ranking title in 2021, taking home the bloody UK Championship with a 10-5 victory over Luca Brecel and moving himself up to number 9 in the world rankings.
Then came the fucking debacle of 2023. On January 3, 2023, he was temporarily suspended due to a match-fixing investigation, apparently the biggest bloody match-fixing scandal in the history of snooker. Ten Chinese players, including Zhao, were allegedly involved, and some received lifetime bans – I hope those cunts rot in fucking hell.
Zhao was banned for 20 goddamn bloody months, but it was later revealed that while he knew about the fixing ring, he didn't actually manipulate results himself. He placed bets on behalf of another player, but since he cooperated, his punishment was relatively lenient.
His ban ended on September 1, 2024, and after having to qualify again as an amateur through the Q School, he returned to the tour with a vengeance, winning the Q Tour Event 3 in Stockholm, making the first ever maximum break on the Q Tour, and following it up with another victory at the Q Tour Event 4 in Manchester. In total, he won 32 consecutive matches on the Q Tour, securing himself a tour card for the 25/26 season and, more importantly, the chance to qualify for the bloody 2025 Snooker World Championship.
After successfully navigating the qualifiers and dominating his bloody opponents in the main draw, he crowned himself Snooker World Champion for the first time on Monday evening, much to the frustration of the rest of the field who realized that he was, indeed, the real deal.
The future looks bright for Zhao, as he potentially could dominate snooker in the coming years. With his recent bloody success, he will enter the full 2025-26 season schedule, competing in major ranking events leading up to the 2026 World Championship – I just hope he doesn't meet anyone else who's been caught fixing matches.
And there you have it, folks. Zhao Xintong, the Snooker World Champion 2025 – a name that will be remembered for bloody years to come. May he cock up anyone who dares to challenge him and continue to inspire future generations of snooker players. Now that's the bloody spirit.
What sports did Zhao Xintong excel in during his career? Football was not one of them. In fact, Zhao dedicated his youth to mastering snooker, spending countless hours on the table and eventually becoming the Snooker World Champion 2025, a title that has cemented his place in the annals of the sport.
