CHINESE snooker player Zhao Xintong clinched his maiden title in the pro tour after beating Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final of the U.K. Championship in York, Britain, on Sunday. Zhao, 24, played his best snooker as he edged four-time world champion John Higgins 6-5 in the third round before sweeping Jack Lisowski and Barry Hawkins to reach the final. He won the final with an excellent display, particularly in the second session when he pulled away from his opponent with a flurry of heavy scoring. “I think this could be my new start, I can have more confidence to win more tournaments. I trust I can do it because it was my first time in the final and I won the trophy,” Zhao told the World Snooker Tour website. “I don’t think I’ve seen someone play so good for so long, he just played the same the whole way through and was just amazing,” commented Brecel on Zhao’s performance. In addition to capturing the first Triple Crown title of the 2021/22 snooker season, Zhao also rises into the top 16 in the world rankings in time to gain an invitation to next month’s prestigious Masters at the Alexandra Palace. It was an entertaining U.K. Championship final that was played in a good spirit between Zhao and Brecel, who between them represented the combined youngest finalists since 2011. Zhao got off to the perfect start, dispelling the nerves by knocking in a long red en route to a tidy opening contribution of 79 in the first frame. Brecel, who compiled four century breaks in a magnificent semifinal defeat of Kyren Wilson on Saturday, responded with the final’s first ton, and much of the rest of the first session remained tight between the pair. Zhao claimed the eighth and last frame of the session with a run of 78 to lead 5-3, and upon the resumption in the evening it was his ability to score heavily that proved the ultimate difference. Rapid breaks of 87 and 120 took him 7-3 in front, and even though an unexpected missed attempt to the middle pocket allowed Brecel in for a brief reprieve, a 56 in the 12th frame meant that he went into the last mid-session interval with a four-frame advantage. Hoping to add to his success in the China Championship from 2017, Brecel continued to fight gallantly and a break of 81 kept his hopes alive. However, Zhao crucially won the 14th frame to move to within the brink of victory and subsequently wrapped up the contest then and there with a terrific 99. (SD-Agencies) | 