A look at China’s rising snooker stars after Zhao Xintong conquers Crucible

Zhao Xintong’s breakthrough win at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield is set to usher in a bright new era of Chinese stars.

Zhao is one of five Chinese players who have finished the season in the world’s top 16, and one of 14 currently inhabiting the world’s top 50 – all but three of whom are under the age of 30.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five young Chinese players who could be next in line to capitalise on their compatriot Zhao’s Crucible success.

The 21-year-old from Lanzhou has cracked the world’s top 20 after reaching two ranking finals this season, losing to Neil Robertson and Lei Peifan in the English and Scottish Opens respectively. The tall, fast-potting Wu pushed Mark Williams close in the first round in Sheffield this year, extending the eventual finalist to a 10-8 defeat.

Yuan joined the tour as a 17-year-old in 2017 and it did not take long before the plaudits of some of the game’s greats were ringing in his ears. Yuan swiftly bounced back from relegation during Covid, and last season won back-to-back deciding frames over Mark Allen and Neil Robertson en route to the semi-finals of the German Masters.

An attacking left-hander who boasts multiple world junior titles, the 20-year-old will return to the main tour next season after winning the WSF world crown in February. Gao served notice of his intent in this year’s Crucible qualifiers as he thumped former semi-finalist Stephen Maguire 10-3 before losing a final frame decider to Lei Peifan.

The 21-year-old Lei became the lowest-ranked player to win a ranking title in over 30 years when he triumphed at this season’s Scottish Open, having fought past the likes of Allen and Shaun Murphy in deciding frames. Lei displayed his rock-solid temperament at the Crucible this year by dumping out defending champion Kyren Wilson via another decider on the opening day.

The 24-year-old from Hunan has already compiled an impressive list of scalps. In his first season on the tour he sunk Kyren Wilson and blew away Mark Williams in the German Masters to clinch the prestigious Rookie of the Year title. He followed up this season with two wins over Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Championship League and the English Open respectively.