John Higgins Backs Zhao Xintong to Defy the Crucible Curse and Defend His World Title 

The grandest stage of them all, the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, is almost upon us. But before that, the penultimate ranking event of the season, the Tour Championship in Manchester, is providing the top 12 players on the one-year ranking list a last chance to gear up and get valuable match practice.

Four-time world champion John Higgins got his Manchester campaign underway yesterday with a hard-fought 10-8 victory over long-time rival Mark Williams, a clash dating back to the Class of ’92. 

After the match, we caught up with Higgins to preview the upcoming World Championship.

Higgins Names His Favourite

Higgins asked what may seem a very simple question: who does he believe is the hot favourite going into this year’s tournament? The Scottish veteran didn’t hesitate.

For Higgins, there was only one name on his lips. The reigning champion and the first-ever Chinese world champion, Zhao Xintong.

“I think [Zhao] Xintong. The way he plays, and how easy he wins frames. Just the way he goes about it, the patterns he’s got. I think he’s the favourite,” Higgins told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

Despite being classed as an ‘amateur’ entrant at the 2025 tournament, Zhao’s pedigree has never been in question. The 2021 UK Championship winner served a 20-month suspension for betting offences, part of snooker’s biggest-ever corruption scandal in 2023. 

While not guilty of match-fixing, Zhao was one of ten Chinese players punished.

Returning to the tour for a full season after his suspension, Zhao has delivered spectacularly. He has lifted three titles, the Riyadh Season Championship, the World Grand Prix, and the Players Championship, and reached three additional semi-finals, marking him as one of the season’s standout players.

The Crucible Curse: Will It Bite?

The only possible obstacle for Zhao retaining his world crown is the infamous “Crucible curse.” This quip in professional snooker refers to the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has defended their title since the tournament moved to Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in 1977. 

Twenty first-time world champions have failed to retain their titles, including the 2024 champion, Kyren Wilson, who lost in the first round of the 2025 Championship.

When asked if the Crucible curse might stop Zhao, Higgins was unequivocal: “No, I don’t think so, he’s that special of a player.”

Zhao Xintong: Focused on the Present

We also caught up with the reigning world champion himself before his first match of the Tour Championship against Chris Wakelin. 

Zhao isn’t thinking about the pressure of defending his title; his focus is simply on every match and every frame.

“No, I’m not thinking a lot about that. I’m just trying to enjoy every match, and every frame.”

Superstitions are common in Chinese culture, and Zhao is determined to put the Crucible curse out of his mind.

“I don't want to think about that,” he said with a slight chuckle.

“I see everybody talk about this [the Crucible curse], that it’s something that I can do. But I just want it to be about me. I’ve put that to one side.”