O’Sullivan greeted ‘graceful’ act after the semi -final defeat of the world championship
- Advertisement -
The dreams of Ronnie O’Sullivan about a history making eighth meltable world title were crushed in the semi-final with a session by saving the beautiful Zhao Xintong.
The Chinese Cycloon won Eight Successive frames In a sizzling morning session of 82 minutes to go up 12-4 it was the fourth time that O’Sullivan had experienced such a embarrassing session-whitewash.
And when in the evening the amateur Cueist-Die won a 20-month corruption prohibition until September, further frames to reach a first final.
O’Sullivan, 49, changed his CUE Tip THREE Times and his ferrule ever during this competition and those calls work backwards while struggling to live with the pace and power of the part-timer, who won 17-7.
This is the first time in 19 years that the rocket had lost in the semi -final of the World Snooker Championship.
The crowd stood up and gave both men a standing ovation for this Friday evening Blockbuster and the student schooled the master in a fascinating way.
Zhao, a qualification, looked nervous when he entered the Arena and after missing a babysitter, O’Sullivan closed the gap to seven frames after fifteen minutes.
Court from “Come On, Ronnie” was told every time their husband came to the table and those voices became louder when Zhao was punished for a poor black of the place in Frame 18 and he could not win the safety exchange.
Not – bred Zhao – that one Pokemon Character on his butterfly tie – had shaken a bit, but he established his visible nerves by taking Frame 19 after his English opponent surprisingly missed a red.
It would be an expensive Miss and the hope of even the most optimistic of fans drain.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions

Below is a list of snooker world champions per year.
The record is for the modern era, generally considered dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took over control over the sport.
The first world championships ran from 1927 – with a break of 1941-45 for Second World War and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players in that period.
Stephen Hendry And Ronnie O’Sullivan Share the record for the Most titles in modern timeswith seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most world titles (Modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
Casino Special – Best Casino Bonuses of £ 10 deposits
The tension in Zhao’s arm disappeared when he went into the middle session interval with Frame 20 in his pocket, thanks to a devastating 128 break, the highest of the semi-final.
O’Sullivan returned from the break and put a seventh frame on the board, but then Zhao reacted by winning Frame 22 in one visit, which hit breathtaking long pots in an 85 break.
Zhao was punished for betting on results for a period of three years and also a party with another player who played two Snooker matches.
Yet he did not solve a match himself and received a lighter punishment than the other perpetrators for early recordings and his plea of guilty.
Zhao – One of the 10 Chinese players Overtaken in a match fixing angel in 2023 – wartte off the victory of his life with successive breaks of 63 and a closing 88.
This was the first time that O’Sullivan had lost a session in 31 years in 31 years and for Zhao this was his 46th victory of 48 games this season.
Zhao, 28, is China’s second world finalist and he will hope to do better than Ding Junhui, who lost the opportunity of the showpiece of 2016 Mark Selby.
A whole nation at 5,000 miles away will hold its breath if he tries to reach 18 frames for two days and four sessions against both Judd Trump Or Mark Williams.
O’Sullivan regrets that he clicked in anger with his sign in January and he will have to find a suitable piece of wood that he is happy with for the following season.
You wonder how much sharper he would have sustained the M1 to Sheffield if he had not been so inactive in 2025.
A man in the auditorium would have been extremely happy with the result – Stephen Hendrywhich was on comment, remains bound for at least 12 months out of seven world titles.
World Snooker Championship 2025

We are back on the melting pot for another exciting fourteen days of snooker promotion!
There will be a new champion this year after reigning champion Kyren Wilson crashed in the first round after a stunning performance by Lei Peifan.
Ronnie O’Sullivan Looks at a record eighth world Snooker Championship Crown, while world no. 1 Judd Trump remains the favorite of the tournament.
Latest
Snooker explained
The two potters would return at 2.30 pm on Saturday, but this early finish gives a headache BBC TV producers.
On Saturday there will be a large break-like exhibition with former world champions, so the World Snooker Tour does not have to hand out reimbursements of gamblers.
O’Sullivan was praised because he was “merciful” in the defeat after he had shared a congratulating handshake with Zhao at the end of the competition.
While Zhao, who admitted that his opponent is his idol, took a moment to lift his hands and to cheer O’Sullivan on the melting pot described in a moment as “beautiful scenes” by the comment team.
Speaking with the BBC after the game, O’Sullivan said: “Zhao played well. He earned his victory, he did the tournament brilliantly.
“I don’t want any apologies, I was here to play, that’s it, he played better than me, I’ve been terrible for a while.
“I would like to play well, but I felt that I never gave him a game, and that is disappointing.”
While Zhao said: ‘I can’t believe this. I want to thank Ronnie because he has helped me a lot before.
“I don’t want to win in the melting pot. Hopefully he can do the eighth triple crown here. He is my idol. I want to thank you.
“I tried to enjoy the melting pot. It is my first time I play the one table. I do it well.
“I just want to play here as an exhibition. I can’t believe I’m still there.
“I felt relaxed. I wanted to enjoy the experience. Sometimes the crowd here is for Ronnie and it was nervous for me.
“He deserved that, he is a legend here. I think my family was looking in China tonight. I will have a big lunch. Don’t think about Snooker.”
- Advertisement -