ZHAO XINTONG has been dubbed the “Roger Federer of snooker”, as he looks to defend his world title.
Chinese cueist Xintong kicked off the defence of the World Snooker Championship crown he won last year by beating Liam Highfield 10-7 in the opening round.
Xintong is looking to beat the Crucible curse by becoming the first-ever first-time world champion to successfully defend his title.
And Jimmy White, a 10-time title winner, believes that is exactly what the 29-year-old will do.
White, a six-time finalist at the Crucible, which he is also delighted is remaining the home of the world championship until at least 2045, likened him to tennis icon Federer, who won 20 Grand Slam titles.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he explained: “He’s like a Roger Federer, he’s one of the greatest ball strikers, if not the greatest, snooker has ever seen.
“He’s the favourite on form.”
White also gave his follow-up options for if the Crucible curse hits Xintong like it has so many others.
The Whirlwind continued: “Then I’d go Ronnie [O’Sullivan], [Judd] Trump, Selby.
“Obviously, [John] Higgins and [Mark] Williams can never be written off.”
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The winner of the World Snooker Championship this year will receive a tidy £500,000 in prize money.
White also declared his greatest rival at the table was six-time world champion Steve Davis.
World Snooker Championship 2026 – all the info
The world’s best snooker players are back at the Crucible for the World Championship.
Zhao Xintong arrives in Sheffield as the reigning champion and he will look to break a 49-year curse and lift the trophy again.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is out for his eighth crown as he tries to move ahead of Stephen Hendry’s seven on the all-time list.
World No1 Judd Trump, four-time champion Mark Selby and 2024 winner Kyren Wilson also fancy their chances of going all the way.
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He said: “His game didn’t suit my game.
“Even when you beat Steve, you’d been through a war.
“He’s a modern-day Mark Selby.”
White remains on the World Snooker Tour, but has not appeared at the Crucible for 20 years, a run that continued after losing in the first round of qualifying to Gao Yang – a player 41 years younger than him.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
- 2025 – Zhao Xintong
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
