Zhao Xintong has nearly half of £500k World Championship prize money taken from him

 Zhao Xintong made history by becoming the first Chinese winner of the World Snooker Championship on Monday night, but he won't be pocketing all of his prize money

Chinese snooker prodigy Zhao Xintong made history by winning the World Championship. The 28 year-old dominated the final against Welshman Mark Williams, becoming the first Chinese player and the first amateur to be crowned world champion.

His performances in Sheffield earned Zhao the prestigious trophy and the hefty £500,000 prize money - but you'd be mistaken if you think he'll be pocketing all of it.

Because having moved to Sheffield in 2016 and registered Zhao Xintong Snooker Ltd as a UK address on Companies House, the newly-crowned world champion is subject to UK tax regulations.

As such, a significant portion of Zhao's winnings will go to HMRC, with an expected £204,299 in tax deductions from his prize money heading their way. It's expected a further £19,611 will be deducted for National Insurance contributions. That means almost half of Zhao's winnings will be taken, leaving him with 55.2 percent of the total prize money.

Nonetheless, this substantial sum will adds to his impressive career earnings. Before the tournament, he was estimated to be worth around £1.m, a figure likely to increase significantly following this victory through winnings and the potential financial opportunities that have now been opened to Zhao - especially at home. BBC presenter Hazel Irvine revealed that around 300 million people in China watched his final match against Williams.

Zhao's victory in Sheffield marks a triumphant return after a 20-month break from the sport. His promising rise was halted in January 2023 when he was suspended amidst a major match-fixing investigation. The WPBSA found him guilty of engaging in match manipulation and betting between 2019 and 2022, although he was cleared of fixing his own matches.

After accepting the charges and completing the shortest ban among the ten penalised Chinese players, Zhao stormed back onto the scene in September 2024. Dominating the Q Tour with victories and two maximum breaks, he clinched his spot back on the professional snooker stage.

Zhao Xintong after winning the 2025 World Snooker Championship

Reflecting on his time away, Zhao confessed to BBC: "Two years ago I made a little mistake. I know how important snooker is to me. These two years have been very long for me, I've practised every day."

Over the weekend, Jason Ferguson, chairman of the Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, spoke about Zhao's comeback.

"It's important to talk about and he has served his time and he has paid his fine and actually he has followed a route of trying to work his way back in," Ferguson commented.

"I think people will always refer to it but when you're young you might get pulled into things. But there is a route back and there is a route to return. From our point of view, he has done the right thing from day one and is welcomed back into the sport and will be a professional player again at the end of this World Championship."