Zhao Xintong is only seven games away from the 2025 Snooker World Championships, and is expected to be crowned the new king on the evening of the 5th

Zhao Xintong temporarily led Mark Williams 11-6 in the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, and was only seven games away from becoming the first Chinese World Championship champion.

The 2025 World Snooker Championship, will it be the oldest champion in history or will we usher in the first world champion from China and even Asia?

British media said after the game that Zhao Xintong's offensive firepower was still excellent in the opening stage of the afternoon of the 4th local time in the United Kingdom, and he covered up the fact that he was relatively inexperienced when he shot 2 single strokes over 100, while the older Williams performed badly. On the one hand, we have to admit that Zhao Xintong did play well, and on the other hand, we must also see that the 50-year-old Williams felt unwell after defeating Trump in the semifinals the day before. He admitted that he had cramps in the latter part of the semi-finals, his back arm muscles tightened a little, and he almost missed the last black ball in the final game.

In the first stage of the final of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, Zhao Xintong hit 2 shots to break 100 and 3 strokes of 50+, leading Williams 7-1. There were three games, in fact, it was Williams who won in the end, but they all gave up the victory because of mistakes. Perhaps the most painful thing was in the sixth game, although the "Golden Left Hand" scored 61 points in a single stroke, he was still reversed by Zhao Xintong.

By the time Zhao finished the first stage with a score of 104 and 83 in a single stroke, the Welshman's battle for a fourth world title had already been shattered. The second stage of the match on the evening of the 4th local time changed somewhat, and Williams, who did not give up, tried to become the oldest world champion ever, and he bravely bounced together in the evening game, won the first two games of the night, and dominated the second half of the match. At this stage, Williams played a 5-4 game and reduced the gap with Zhao Xintong to 6-11.

In the past head-to-head record between the two, Williams has the upper hand with 4 wins and 2 losses, but the last two matchups have been Zhao Xintong who has the last laugh. The final of the World Snooker Championship adopts a 35-game 18-win system, which is divided into four stages: 8/9/8/10. And in this four-stage marathon battle, the young Zhao Xintong undoubtedly has more physical strength and combat effectiveness. Looking ahead to the final showdown, will we be the oldest champion in history or will we welcome the first world champion from China and Asia? Let's wait and see. The third stage of the World Championships finals will be played at 8 p.m. Beijing time on the 5th, a total of 8 rounds will be played in this stage, if Zhao Xintong can replicate the brutal score of 7-1 in the first stage or lose 7 games in a row, he will help Chinese snooker break through the window paper from the runner-up of the World Championships to the champion.