Zhao Xintong, the Chinese qualifier, is just one frame from winning the World Snooker Championship after an apparently nerveless performance on the final day of the tournament.

Zhao Xintong has dominated Mark Williams in the opening session of the world snooker championship final by running up a 7-1 lead in his bid to become the first Chinese winner of the sport’s biggest prize.

Zhao Xintong has become China ’s first winner of the World Snooker Championship, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the Crucible final. The 28-year-old was playing in his first final and, remarkably, as an amateur after he dropped off the professional circuit due to a 20-month ban from the sport.