Zhao Xintong tipped to become richest player ever as O'Sullivan snubbed by snooker boss

 Zhao Xintong will be desperate to kick on after his triumph at the World Snooker Championship.

Zhao Xintong made history with his World Snooker Championship triumph

Zhao Xintong is set to become the richest potter on the planet after becoming China’s first world champion.

The Cyclone, 28, blew away the field as he became the first qualifier since Shaun Murphy 20 years ago to win the game’s greatest prize with an 18-12 victory over all-time great Mark Williams on Monday night.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the sport’s highest ever earner with prize money alone around the £15million mark before lucrative sponsorship deals and exhibitions earnings. China is a massive market for snooker, with Zhao the new face of the sport.

And snooker’s new superstar, who banked £500,000 by winning the title, is due to dwarf the Rocket’s earnings with commercial deals alone — much like Emma Radacanu did after her US Open triumph.

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the sport’s governing body, said: “I think Xintong has the potential to become the richest earning snooker player in the history of the sport.

“That's quite a bold statement when you think about the titles players like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan won.

“But the size of the market is huge and when you see the association of the brands who want to partner with snooker, it has endless potential.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was thrashed by Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals at the Crucible

“This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has ever seen. We've seen the growth in the China market and we've seen the size and scale of grass-roots development underneath that.

“To see a world champion returning to China a national hero is really going to send the sport to another level.”

Zhao won the UK Championship back in 2021 and now only needs the Masters to become China’s first winner of all three Triple Crown majors.

When asked how he would cope with his newfound superstardom when he returns to his homeland, he said: “I just want to carry on focusing on playing snooker. I believe I can win this again. I want to win the Masters as well. That is one of my goals.”

Zhao is a cool customer on and off the table, with very little fazing him. The way he glides around the table has seen the talented left-handed potter likened to a young Jimmy White.

It was as if the enormity of what he achieved over the Bank Holiday weekend had not set in, with a new wave of Chinese talent set to be inspired after the crowning of their first snooker king.

Zhao’s manager Victoria Shi said: “He is the first Asian world champion, that is huge. It is like if Tottenham won the Premier League and Son was the first Asian footballer to win. It is the same.

“So many more young Chinese people will start playing because of him. He is young, he has a good image, he plays good snooker and he is on TV a lot.

“As a sports icon, you can make people proud and make people want to be like him.”