Zhao Xintong continued his defence of the World Snooker Championship after completing a hard-fought 13-9 victory over Ding Junhui on Sunday in Sheffield.
The top seed was given another tough workout in the competition but safely emerged with a spot in the quarter-finals, where he’ll face Shaun Murphy.
There was a big build-up to the blockbuster all-Chinese affair with tens of millions expected to be tuning in back in Asia.
There weren’t many fireworks in the contest, but there was plenty of drama with several important frames going down to the final colours.
Zhao played well overall, but Ding will rue numerous missed opportunities to put even more pressure on his younger opponent.
“It was definitely very special for us,” Zhao said in the BBC studio after the match concluded. “Everybody wants to keep their eyes on this game, and today I think there was more pressure.”
“It wasn’t like yesterday or the first session – the last session had more pressure. So yeah, I feel lucky that I could win.
“I know Ding didn’t really play well in the last session, because he missed some easy chances. But I didn’t play well either.
“I just tried my best to calm down, because the pressure was so big. It’s not like what I experienced before.
“It’s different to last year when I wasn’t a seed. I was a nobody guy. I just wanted to beat anyone, but now I don’t want to lose any match.
“I just want to keep going, so it’s very different. Ding gave me some easy chances which gave me more confidence.
“If Ding played well, I think today could have been much tougher.”
In the first session, Ding led by the odd frame on three occasions and missed chances in frame six to establish what could have been a pivotal two-frame cushion.
As it was, Zhao pinched back-to-back frames to take the lead for the first time, and the 29 year-old was never behind again.
The world number four, three times a ranking event winner in 2026 already, began to pull away during the second session and duly established a three-frame gap for the first time at 8-5.
Ding, however, continued to fight and managed to take two out of the remaining three frames of the middle session to be just two behind overnight.
When the 2016 runner-up won a lengthy and error-strewn opening frame of the final session to draw within one, a tense finale appeared in store.
But while Zhao, with a hat-trick of century breaks, continued to score reasonably heavily when given his openings, Ding ultimately struggled to reach anywhere near his peak form.
Next up for the reigning champion is Murphy, which represents another mouthwatering clash to look forward to.
“I know he’s a very good player,” Zhao said of the 2005 world champion. “I’ve played against him a few times and know how good he is.”
“I just want to try to enjoy now – I’m in the quarter-finals.
“Last year, every match I won I was so happy. I felt like if I lost, it was okay, because I could go back to China to be with my family.
“But now that I have reached the quarter-finals, I just want to go to the semis. I just want to win.”
Zhao remains on course to break the fabled Curse of the Crucible whereby no first-time champion has ever returned to defend the title in Sheffield.
He hasn’t look invincible in this tournament yet, but he is playing well and there is a fear factor about him much in the same ilk as Ronnie O’Sullivan in the past.
Zhao also seems to handle the pressure better than most, but that’s only going to increase the further he goes in this year’s championship.
Featured photo credit: WST
O’Sullivan and Murphy are certainly playing well enough to stop him.
Zhao the third player, after Judd Trump and Neil Robertson, to make 80 centuries in a season.