Zhao goes trophy hunting after match-fixing ban ends
The Independent|November 23, 2024
When the main stage of the UK Championship - still widely considered snooker's second-biggest event after the World Championship - kicks off in York this afternoon, there will be an amateur player taking to the baize.
LUKE BAKER
Zhao goes trophy hunting after match-fixing ban ends

Having battled through four rounds of qualifying to reach the Barbican Centre, he will line up in the last 32 against former world champion and current world No 9 Shaun Murphy. Normally, an established star like Murphy would go into a match like this as heavy favourite but according to the bookies, the 42year-old is an underdog.

In fact, this amateur player is generally being priced as fifth favourite to win the entire tournament – with odds of 14-1 being similar to those of 2022 UK champion Mark Allen, the man who has reached the final of the event each of the last two years Ding Junhui, three-time champion of the world Mark Williams and 24-time ranking event winner Neil Robertson.

This despite the fact that he hasn’t competed in a professional tournament since 2022. As you’ve probably gathered by now, this isn’t any ordinary amateur snooker player. This is Zhao Xintong. The 27-year-old star who, after brilliantly winning the UK Championship back in 2021, has spent the past two years banned from snooker for his role in the match-fixing scandal that engulfed a number of the sport’s biggest Chinese players.

York this week marks Zhao’s return to the big stage and the reaction of the Barbican crowd will be fascinating to observe. Before his ban, he was fast becoming a fan favourite due to his flamboyant style of play, ferocious long potting and unbelievable skill with a cue in his hand. But the match-fixing scandal has left something of a black mark by his name.

The high-profile scandal engulfed snooker in early 2023 as 10 Chinese players were charged with varying degrees of matchfixing, and ultimately Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were banned from the sport for life. Former world No 11 Liang’s behaviour was identified as “particularly disgraceful” by the WPBSA disciplinary commission that carried out the hearing.

Esta historia es de la edición November 23, 2024 de The Independent.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 23, 2024 de The Independent.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE INDEPENDENTVer todo
Archbishop to say Church 'must kneel in penitence'
The Independent

Archbishop to say Church 'must kneel in penitence'

Christmas Day message follows on from abuse scandal

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 25, 2024
Starmer delivers Christmas message for ‘lonely people'
The Independent

Starmer delivers Christmas message for ‘lonely people'

Sir Keir Starmer has delivered his Christmas message to the nation, saying his \"thoughts are with all those who are lonely\" over the festive season.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 25, 2024
'We had children going to sleep in the reading corner'
The Independent

'We had children going to sleep in the reading corner'

Holly Evans speaks to families whose children are benefiting from the 900 beds your generosity helped us to buy last year

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 25, 2024
Two safe havens for abuse survivors become reality
The Independent

Two safe havens for abuse survivors become reality

Work on the properties has begun after The Indy's campaign with Refuge raises nearly £600,000, says Maya Oppenheim

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 25, 2024
The Independent

Academy champion Pulling dreams of moving up to F1

The British driver tells Kieran Jackson about beating boys and eyeing the big time after a dominant year on the track

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Fury and Usyk weigh future after bruising encounter
The Independent

Fury and Usyk weigh future after bruising encounter

Years were spent debating who would emerge as this generation’s greatest heavyweight.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Win or lose it's a wild ride for fans with Ange in charge
The Independent

Win or lose it's a wild ride for fans with Ange in charge

It’s just the way they play, mate. From 3-4 to 1-1 to 5-0 to 4-3 to 3-6, with Tottenham taking and giving up leads, mounting comebacks, scoring in the first minute and conceding at almost any point, often in calamitous fashion.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Can Reeves save our frozen economy from a recession?
The Independent

Can Reeves save our frozen economy from a recession?

Jack Frost swept an icy chill across the UK economy earlier than anyone expected. Following on from last week’s grim economic news, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised its third quarter (July to September) estimate of GDP growth down to absolute zero.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Russian scientists reveal baby mammoth remains
The Independent

Russian scientists reveal baby mammoth remains

Researchers in Siberia are conducting tests on a young mammoth whose remarkably well-preserved remains were discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
Greenland will ‘never be for sale', its leader warns Trump
The Independent

Greenland will ‘never be for sale', its leader warns Trump

The leader of Greenland has flat-out rejected US president-elect Donald Trump’s renewed interest in purchasing the massive Arctic island from Denmark, insisting that the territory is not on the market.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024