Zhao Xintong made historical past as he turned the primary participant from China to win the World Championship with an 18-12 victory over Mark Williams in Sheffield.
The 28-year-old had prolonged his 11-6 in a single day lead with a dominant show on Monday afternoon to start the concluding session 17-8 forward.
Willed on by a buoyant Crucible crowd, three-time winner Williams compiled fantastic breaks of 101, 96 and 73 on his method to accumulating the primary 4 frames of the night.
And 40 years on from the long-lasting black-ball ultimate when Dennis Taylor got here from 8-0 and 9-1 all the way down to defeat Steve Davis, it briefly raised hopes of one other astonishing revival.
Nonetheless, the Welshman, who has already achieved a notable landmark by changing into the Crucible’s oldest ever finalist, six weeks after turning 50, was finally solely capable of delay the inevitable.
Having largely been consigned to his seat, Zhao – whose journey to changing into champion remarkably started 29 days in the past and included him having to win 4 qualifying matches and 111 frames in whole – wrapped up a well-known success with a run of 87.
It was not more than his scintillating type over the 17-day televised occasion deserved.
“This is sort of a dream. I am unable to imagine it. There was massive strain and massive nerves. I knew if I missed he might come again rapidly,” he informed BBC Sport.
“I used to be so nervous tonight. Mark continues to be a high participant and put me below a lot strain. He is one of the best.”
Together with the £500,000 high prize, he’ll climb to eleventh on the earth rankings when he returns to the principle skilled tour subsequent season.
Zhao, who received the UK title in 2021, is the primary beginner to triumph on the Crucible. He additionally turns into solely the third qualifier after Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy to assert snooker’s largest prize for the reason that event’s 1977 transfer to Sheffield.
His achievement is all of the extra extraordinary given he was nonetheless suspended from the game 12 months in the past, along with his burgeoning profession abruptly halted when he was certainly one of 10 Chinese language gamers sanctioned in 2023 following an investigation into match-fixing.
Whereas Zhao didn’t straight throw a match, he accepted prices of being a celebration to a different participant fixing two matches and betting on matches himself, and for these offences he acquired a 20-month ban.
His win over Williams was his forty seventh from 49 matches this time period and vindicated the bookmakers’ choices to put in him as one of many favourites earlier than the event even received below method.
