Mark Williams names 'frightening' Chinese starlet 'not far away' from Luke Littler-esque world champion Zhao Xintong after historic Crucible success
Published 06/05/2025 at 19:10 GMT+1
Zhao Xintong is in the spotlight after his impressive and historic World Championship victory, but beaten finalist Mark Williams has singled out another talented young Chinese player to watch. Williams is looking ahead to more success for a new wave of Chinese stars in the coming years, comparing Zhao to a darts prodigy that has shaken up that sport of late.
Williams 'chuntering' in his seat after Wu pots 'sensational' long red off his break
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Williams claims China's Wu Yize is "not far away" from compatriot Zhao Xintong, who became world champion with victory at the Crucible on Monday evening.
Zhao, 28, beat Williams in the final to secure his first world title, and he has been lauded as one of snooker's rising stars.
But Williams, who beat Wu 10-8 in the first round, suggested there may be more Chinese players at the very top of the sport in the coming years.
"There are loads of them now. How many were in the World Championship? 10?" Williams said. "There are so many good players. They’re all unbelievable potters.
"The lad I played in the first round, Wu Yize, he’s another one. Maybe not as good as Xintong, but he’s not far away. He pots some unbelievable balls.
"The balls they go for, you think 'crack on' because you want them to go for it. But they get the majority of them. It’s frightening to watch!"
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Watch: Top 10 shots of 2025 World Snooker Championship
Video credit: TNT Sports
Williams was full of praise for Zhao after the World Championship final, comparing him to darts' most precocious talent, Luke Littler.
"He’s always had that [calmness] even when he was 12 and I played him," Williams added. "He said at the end he was nervous, but it didn’t show on his face.
"You wouldn’t know if he was 8-0 up or 8-0 down. He’s exactly the same all the time.
"It’s a brilliant trait to have if you can play like you don’t care when you do care, pretty much like myself when I was younger. Even though he said he was under pressure, he never looked it at any stage of the match.
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"I think everyone needs to get behind him. He could dominate or at least give [Judd] Trump and Kyren [Wilson] a run for their money. We’ve got a new superstar.
"I think it was needed. You’ve seen the Luke Littler thing in darts, I think this is what snooker needed… someone like him coming through.
"The way he plays is effortless. Long potting, cue power, brilliant."
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