STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – China’s Zhao Xintong bounced back from his recent ban following a match-fixing probe to rattle in the first maximum 147 break at a World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) Q Tour event on Saturday as he seeks to get back into the pro ranks.
Zhao, winner of the UK Championship in 2021, was suspended in January 2023 then sidelined for more than 18 months after accepting charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches, as well as betting on matches himself.
Once tipped for greatness, he now finds himself battling to get back on the professional tour, and he resumed competing at a recent Q Tour event in Bulgaria, where he lost in the last 64 to England’s Craig Steadman.
He was back to his imperious best in Stockholm, taking a 3-1 lead and then clearing the table in front of a handful of spectators to win the best-of-seven match against Hong Kong’s Shaun Liu by four frames to one and put himself into the last 32 of the competition, which ends on Sunday.
The maximum break is also believed to be the first in competition in Sweden, Swedish Billiards Federation president Andy Nettleton told Reuters.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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