Zhao Xintong puts Jak Jones on verge of early Crucible exit

SHEFFIELD: China’s Zhao Xintong delivered a masterclass in break-building to storm into a commanding 7-2 lead over Jak Jones in their first-round clash at the World Snooker Championship here at the Crucible Theatre on Saturday.

Zhao, the 2021 UK Champion, punished early mistakes from Jones with a flurry of high-scoring visits, including a brilliant 142 clearance – the highest break of the tournament so far.

He added six further half-century breaks to dominate the opening session at the Crucible Theatre.

Jones, the 16th seed who shocked the snooker world with a run to the final last year, managed a 99 break in the third frame and clinched the final frame of the session but remained in tatters.

However, the Welshman will have it all to do when play resumes on Monday, as Zhao needs just three more frames to book his place in the second round.

The winner will go on to face Lei Peifan in the Last 16 after he eliminated defending champion Kyren Wilson on Saturday.

Zhao, 28, is participating in the World Championship as an amateur, having sailed through the qualifying rounds. Despite his amateur status, he is considered one of the frontrunners to claim the title on 5 May.

In 2023, Zhao was among 10 players banned following a match-fixing investigation. While he did not deliberately lose any matches himself, he was handed a two-and-a-half-year suspension, which was later reduced to 20 months after admitting to being involved in another player's match-fixing and placing bets on matches.

Having completed his suspension earlier this season, Zhao impressed on the Q Tour and has now secured a return to the professional circuit for the 2025-26 season.

In other World Snooker Championship matches, China's Xiao Guodong defeated England’s Matthew Selt 10-4 to book his place in the second round, where he’ll face either John Higgins or Joe O’Connor.

Xiao, ranked 14th in the world, held a 7-2 overnight lead. Although he dropped the first two frames of the final session, he responded by winning the next three to seal victory and advance to the last 16.

Later today, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen begins his pursuit of a maiden world title against Fan Zhengyi, aiming to complete the Triple Crown.

Meanwhile, Wales’ three-time champion Mark Williams took a narrow 5-4 lead, heading into the final session of his opening match against Wu Yize.