The 2026 Snooker World Championship started yesterday at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield and, as per tradition, the defending champion “opened” the competition as his match played to completion on table 1.
This is never an easy task for the reigning World champion, especially when they are defending for the first time but Zhao Xintong acquitted himself very well, despite not playing at his brilliant best.
Zhao Xintong admitted he felt “big pressure” as he came through a nervy first round test to beat Liam Highfield 10-7, a successful start to his bid to retain the Halo World Championship title.
China’s 29-year-old Zhao looked vulnerable for much of the day against world number 92 Highfield, the lowest ranked player to come through the qualifying rounds, and could have fallen 6-5 behind. But he eventually came good, taking five of the last seven frames to earn a meeting with Ding Junhui or David Gilbert in the second round; a match which starts next Friday.
A year ago, Zhao made snooker history as the first player from Asia to lift the sport’s most famous trophy, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in the final. He is now aiming to break the Curse of the Crucible, as in the 49-year history of the Championship in Sheffield, no first-time winner has successfully defended the title.
Rated as short as 2/1 favourite by bookmakers at the start of the event, Zhao has been the player of the 2025/26 season so far, notably hitting top form since February and collecting silverware at the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship. And while today he was far from his best, he will be relieved to have negotiated an awkward opening hurdle, particularly given that first-time champions Luca Brecel in 2024 and Kyren Wilson in 2025 both crashed out in the opening round.
Trailing 5-4 after the first session, Highfield took the opening frame tonight on the colours and he had a scoring chance in the next but crucially on a break of 55 he missed a routine yellow to a baulk corner, and Zhao later took the frame with a delightful 44 clearance to regain the lead. That proved a key turning point as Zhao rattled in breaks of 68 and 128 to go 8-5 ahead at the interval.
Highfield might have pinched frame 14 but, in potting the final yellow, snookered himself on the green, and he later finished second best in a safety tussle as Zhao moved to the brink of victory. England’s Highfield fought back with an excellent break of 101, then a run of 53 helped him close to 9-7.
However Zhao kept his composure and blasted in a long planted red at the beginning of frame 17, setting up a break of 112, his third century of the match and 77th of the season.
“I didn’t play that well, there was big pressure,” said Zhao after reaching the second round at the Crucible for the third time. “It’s not like before, it was very different. The Crucible is very interesting like that. I’m really happy to win. I tried to control myself but I missed some easy balls. Tonight I felt better but it’s tough because it’s my first time as defending champion.
“The 11th frame was important, when I won that to go 6-5 ahead it gave me confidence that I could finish the game. The first round is very difficult, it’s hard to enjoy. I was very proud this morning when I was introduced, I wanted to stay in the tournament and not lose today.“
Highfield said: “I kept him at bay in the first session but tonight there were two or three frames I could have won, I just missed chances. The 11th frame hurt me, after that Zhao played well. I was trying to make sure I got on the next red and I took my eye off the yellow.“
On the other table, Barry Hawkins established a 7-2 overnight advantage over Matthew Stevens in a battle between two former finalists. They play to a finish on Sunday from 2.30pm.
Stevens had an early 2-1 lead but 2013 runner-up Hawkins then reeled off six frames in a row with a top break of 99.
I don’t have much to add, as I didn’t watch any of the other matches so far. I’m pleased for Zhao. I like the way he plays, and he comes across as a nice character. Yes, he looked vulnerable, but then, this was probably the most pressure he ever felt in his career so far. He is out there as the first ever Chinese World Champion, and defending Champion. He has to cope with the hopes and expectations of a population of over 1.400 billion individuals, I’m certain that the Chinese media showed up in force at the Crucible his match yesterday … who wouldn’t feel pressure under these circumstances? Well done Zhao!
That said, Liam Highfield is a likeable character and he certainly didn’t disgrace himself. It takes two to make a good match and this was one, not because of sky high standard, but because it was competitive and played in good spirit by two men who gave it their best.
