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Banned snooker star aims for World Championship return after Ronnie O'Sullivan prediction

Zhao Xintong was once hailed by Ronnie O'Sullivan as a 'special' talent who had the potential to be an all-time great, but his career was derailed by a match-fixing scandal

[Ronnie O'Sullivan]

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a big fan of Zhao Xintong's snooker talent(Image: (Image: Getty))

Zhao Xintong, the Chinese snooker sensation once hailed by Ronnie O'Sullivan as a future star, is gearing up for a return to the sport after serving a 20-month suspension due to his role in a match-fixing scandal.

Zhao, 27, was previously lauded by the Rocket himself, who confidently predicted he could become one of the greats. However, his career trajectory plummeted following the controversy, leading to a significant break from competitive play.

He is now eyeing a comeback to the snooker scene later this year and may even make an appearance at the World Championship in April if he can battle through the qualifiers.

Stephen Hendry has already flagged Zhao as a formidable opponent that no player would want to encounter in the tournament. On the Snooker Club podcast, Hendry remarked: "Apparently he's in the top five with the betting for the whole thing.

"If he gets through then it'll be really interesting to see how he does. There's a whole load you could say that you don't want in the first round of the World Championship," reports the Express.

[0_Zhao-Xintong.jpg]

Zhao Xintong has made his return from a 20-month ban(Image: (Image: Getty))

"It's different from the late 80s and early 90s where you could forget the first two rounds because you'd breeze through it. But there will be one or two who will be good draws. Everyone else will be tough."

Before his suspension, Zhao clinched the 2021 UK Championship and soared to world number nine, marking him as a serious threat to snooker's top dogs like Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, and even O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan was full of admiration for Zhao after his German Masters win in 2022, remarking: "The last time I was this excited about a player was when I saw Stephen Hendry play when I was only about nine years old, and I was thinking 'Who is this fella?'.

"I remember watching Stephen play in some festival in Hastings and you knew he was special. And for me Zhao is the only one since that made me think he could be something special.

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"He is super-good now, but could be an unplayable great if he were to brush up on certain things. And that is up to him, does he want to be open to that, and do the work.

"Because Zhao can be as good as he wants to be, he has got the game in his hands. As he develops he will handle the pressure situations even better than now."

Hendry also weighed in on Zhao's prowess: "There are only a handful of players in the game who really stand out when you watch them play and you think, they've got that little stardust, that star quality.

"There's lots of great players who make lots of centuries, but they don't look like that, they don't have that little bit extra. Zhao Xintong, when he plays like that, has got that. He's got the X Factor."

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