Chinese snooker star Zhao Xintong defeated world number one Judd Trump 10–3 to claim the 2026 Snooker Tour Championship in Manchester.
On April 5th, Chinese player Zhao Xintong defeated world number one Judd Trump 10–3 to win the Snooker Tour Championship in Manchester.
The tournament features the top 12 players of the season. The top four seeds enter directly into the quarter-finals, while players ranked 5–12 compete in the first round. All matches are played as best-of-19 frames, with the first session requiring at least eight frames.
Zhao, the No. 2 seed, beat England’s Chris Wakelin 10–4 in the quarter-finals. He then dominated Scottish veteran John Higgins 10–1 to reach the final. Trump started from the round of 12. He narrowly defeated Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen 10–8 and England’s Shaun Murphy 10–9. In the semi-finals, he beat Australia’s Neil Robertson 10–4.
In the final, the first four frames ended 2–2. Zhao then won three frames in a row. Trump took one back, but Zhao led 5–3 at the end of the first session. In the second session, Zhao won four straight frames to reach match point. He added a 50+ break in the 13th frame to secure a 10–3 victory.
Zhao told the BBC, “This is a big moment for me. Judd Trump is my favourite player. I am really happy and lucky that tonight I am the one who has won. Manchester is a very good city, and the crowd is amazing. I love it here. ”
China had two players in the tournament. Wu Yize lost to Chris Wakelin in the round of 12.
If you liked this article, why not read: Zhao Xintong Becomes China’s First World Snooker Champion
