Jimmy White raised eyebrows with a rumour about Zhao Xintong’s preparation for the Masters. The Triple Crown event kicked off at the weekend, with Zhao among the favourites after an impressive 2025.
The Chinese potter was a surprise winner of the World Championship, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams en route to a maiden victory. Zhao took a bit of time to get up to speed at the beginning of the 2025/26 season, but wrapped the year up with victory at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in 2025.
However, snooker icon White has questioned Zhao’s pre-tournament actions, stating he’d been told the 28-year-old didn’t arrive in the United Kingdom until a couple of days before the event. Speaking to TNT Sports, the former UK Championship winner said: “He has been in and out. I have heard that he’s arriving back in the country a few days before the tournament.
“Okay, he is world champion and he probably has a lot of commitments in China but that is not the best preparation. He will learn as he goes along that, for these big events, you have got to come at least a week before to get your game together.”
Zhao has stated he’s looking to develop as a player and build on his 2025 World Championship title. He explained: “I’m trying to learn and now being world champion is very different, you need to do more things. There’s a lot of pressure and that’s a big problem for me, so I’m learning how to enjoy the table. When I win any match, I’m just very happy. This is my first time to be famous and I’m very busy. I don’t have time to practice but now I’m trying to get the balance and trying to get better.”
Zhao’s Masters campaign gets underway on Monday night when he takes on Gary Wilson. The winner of that clash will take on either John Higgins or Barry Hawkins in the quarter-final, with a likely semi-final against Judd Trump to follow, should the No.3 seed progress through his side of the bracket unharmed.
