Zhao defies jetlag to seal Champion of Champions semi-final berth
Zhao was the Group Three winner on Tuesday (Credit: Matchroom Multi-Sport)
Zhao Xintong defied jetlag and fatigue to book his place in the Champion of Champions semi-finals with a dramatic 6-5 win over Kyren Wilson.
The Cyclone recovered from 5-3 down to prevail on the final black in a battle of the two most recent World champions at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
Zhao, having reached the International Championship semi-finals last weekend, only landed back in England hours before his Group Three opener against Mark Allen, yet took just 49 minutes to condemn the two-time champion to a 4-0 rout.
Despite evident exhaustion, though, he managed to rally and edge out Wilson later in the day, setting up another mouth-watering last-four showdown with Judd Trump on Friday.
“I don’t know how I played tonight, but I tried my best and did well,” Zhao told ITV.
“When I was 3-1 up, I missed a few shots and he played well to come back to 5-3.
“I didn’t want to let him win too easily, so I tried my best to come back. I got some luck in the last two frames.”
Zhao hit breaks of 60, 78 and 76 as he outscored a helpless Allen by 351 points to one in the group semi-finals.
The Cyclone built on that momentum with runs of 73, 99 and 78 establishing a 3-1 lead over Wilson.
The Warrior had come through an epic clash with Jack Lisowski in the opening match of what was dubbed ‘the Group of Death’, prevailing 4-3 having been pegged back from 3-0 up.
And he found another gear after the interval. With fatigue setting in for Zhao, Wilson took full advantage by reeling off four straight frames with breaks of 104, 62, 120 and 88 along the way.
Nevertheless, Zhao stopped the rot with a magnificent 136 total clearance, while a further run of 64 ensured the contest would go the distance.
The Chinese made 58 with the first chance of the decider, but broke down after missing a thin blue to the right centre.
Wilson countered with 54 but was out of position on the black, which he had a chance to knock in from distance following a loose safety from Zhao.
However, with the cue-ball near the side rail, the Warrior could only rattle the black and leave it over the same pocket, presenting his opponent with a simple pot to seal his passage into the semi-finals.
“It’s what you expect, it’s what the punters want to come and see; the two latest World champions going toe to toe,” Wilson added. “Every credit to Zhao, he deserved his victory.
“There were a few issues with the table. It was severely drifting to the left, so I lost a lot of confidence early on.
“I just thought I had to step it up and try to take the game to Zhao, but not quite good enough.”
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Champion of Champions 2025 Results
Tuesday November 11
Group Three
Semi-Finals
Kyren Wilson 4-3 Jack Lisowski
Mark Allen 0-4 Zhao Xintong
Final
Kyren Wilson 5-6 Zhao Xintong