Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams 7-1 in the first session of the World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible this week.
The Chinese, who comfortably beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-finals, was completely dominant throughout the match as the three-time champion failed to display the form that saw him beat Judd Trump on Saturday.
Zhao won all three opening frames to set the tone for the best-of-three contest and kept the Welshman out of the game, producing two superb century breaks in the process.
It was more than enough to make him the clear favourite and become only the third player in history to win this prestigious tournament after qualifying.
Zhao, who played amateur in Sheffield, was quickest, controlling the opening frame after an initial 51-point chance and securing it after a safety exchange.
Williams opened the scoring on the day with a long red early in the second period but missed a chance to win it, giving his opponent a chance for a clean 100 break.
Both players made mistakes as the game became tense in the third period, but it was Zhao who picked up the ball at the right moment, showing quality and range to complete three impressive strikes on the brown, blue and pink balls.
At 3-0 down things were looking up for the veteran but Williams managed to get on the board before the mid-session break, coming through another uneven frame with a nose in front.
Zhao made sure to keep the momentum going, restoring his three-frame lead with a break of 57. Williams continued to fight despite a foul on the pink that forced him to take two snookers, and eventually bowed to the inevitable.
He seemed to have found his game when he scored 61 points – more than double his previous best – but misjudged a canon from the black when the frame was ready to be taken. He failed to make a clean cut on the red
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
