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.

Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.

China is edging closer to having its first world snooker champion after Zhao Xintong established an 11-6 lead over Mark Williams at the halfway point of the final at the Crucible Theatre.