Zhao Xintong continued what has been a strong edition of the Masters for the Chinese contingent so far with a 6-2 victory over Gary Wilson on Monday.
The reigning world champion is playing in the prestigious invitational for only the second time in his career and made the most of his chances to secure his first-ever victory in the competition.
Wilson took the opening frame of the contest with a break of 76, but it was pretty much all Zhao after that as he raced clear.
Three half-century breaks helped him into a 3-1 mid-session interval lead, and he duly extended the cushion with a run of 72 in the fifth.
There was a brief spell where Wilson hinted at a possible revival, but Zhao took a close seventh frame and closed out the win with a break of 67.
There have been four matches played at the 2026 Masters and three of the triumphs have gone to Chinese players.
Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby react to shock Masters exits →
Zhao, who stormed to glory at the Crucible Theatre last spring as a qualifier, has joined Xiao Guodong and Wu Yize in the quarter-finals.
Indeed, it’s the 28 year-old’s wish that this year’s Masters will conclude with a pair of Chinese competitors in the final.
“I enjoyed tonight. This is my second time to the Alexandra Palace, so I really enjoyed it,” Zhao said in his immediate post-match interview.
“I know Wilson’s a very good player, so I just wanted to make big breaks. I didn’t want him coming back at me so I just tried to get better.”
“Hopefully in the final we have two Chinese players. Tonight, I can see a lot of Chinese friends and they support me, so I love them.”
There are two more players from China still to play in the first round of the 2026 Masters, with Si Jiahui facing Kyren Wilson on Tuesday and Ding Junhui challenging Judd Trump on Wednesday.
Ding, of course, is one of two former Chinese winners of the Masters, famously beating Marco Fu back in 2011 in what was the groundbreaking first all-Asian final in the sport.
Zhao, meanwhile, awaits the winner of Tuesday evening’s tie between John Higgins and Barry Hawkins.
Elsewhere on day two, Mark Allen produced a late burst to see off Mark Williams in a battle of the former champions.
A laborious opening set of four frames were shared as neither player could discover any significant degree of rhythm within their game.
But Allen, the 2018 champion, rediscovered his scoring prowess after the resumption and reeled off the last four frames with breaks of 125, 70, and 60.
Masters Draw
Round 1 (bo11)
Shaun Murphy (1) 2-6 Wu Yize (13)
Mark Selby (8) 2-6 Xiao Guodong (11)
Neil Robertson (5) vs Chris Wakelin
Wed 14 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Kyren Wilson (4) vs Si Jiahui (15)
Tue 13 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Judd Trump (3) vs Ding Junhui (12)
Wed 14 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Mark Williams (6) 2-6 Mark Allen (10)
John Higgins (7) vs Barry Hawkins (14)
Tue 13 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Zhao Xintong (2) 6-2 Gary Wilson (16)
Featured photo credit: WST
Whoever the finalists are I predict that they will each win their semifinals 6-2! Two days and four matches and there hasn’t been a contest yet.
Not the best of starts to this year’s edition. Let’s hope it can build momentum towards the weekend.