Zhao Xintong seizes control against Mark Williams in World Snooker Championship final

Zhao Xintong established a healthy 11-6 overnight lead against Mark Williams at the midway point in the 2025 World Championship final.

The former UK champion is over halfway towards becoming the first amateur and Chinese player to triumph at The Crucible, after hitting two centuries and a further five breaks over 70 during a dominant opening day of the showpiece.

The stage was set for the final which represented the largest age gap between the two players, as 50-year-old Williams faced 28-year-old Zhao.

And it was the youth of Zhao that settled quicker in his first Crucible showpiece with breaks of 77 and 100, before taking the third frame on the black for a 3-0 lead.

Williams – aiming to become the oldest champion in Sheffield – stopped the rot to get his first frame on the board before the mid-session interval.

However, it was one-way traffic upon the resumption. Zhao got back on track with a run of 57, before overturning a deficit to take the sixth frame and guarantee a lead heading into the evening.

The Chinese, who had won four qualifying matches to secure his return to The Crucible, then finished the opening session with a flourish, as breaks of 104 and 83 put him 7-1 to the good.

Three-time champion Williams dominated the opening two frames of the evening, with a run of 86 helping him reduce the deficit to 7-3, though Zhao restored his six-frame buffer with contributions of 71 and 56.

The Welshman responded with a break of 72 to move back to 9-5, but the Cyclone hit back with 96.

Zhao then came to the table 63 points adrift in frame 16 after Williams missed a red to the right corner, and produced a typically nerveless 72 clearance to pinch it on the black.

Williams took the final frame of the day on the colours to trail 11-6, but requires the biggest overnight turnaround in Crucible history if he is to get his hands on a fourth World title.

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