World Snooker Championship 2025: Ronnie O’Sullivan Fears He May Never Fix His Game After Semi-Final Defeat to Zhao Xintong

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s hopes of winning a record eighth World Snooker Championship were ended in emphatic fashion by Zhao Xintong, as the controversial Chinese star made history by becoming the first ever ‘amateur’ to reach the final of the sport’s showpiece event. 

Zhao, who returned to the Crucible less than a year after completing a 20-month ban for betting offences, swept aside O’Sullivan 17-7 to book his place in Sunday’s final. While Zhao wasn’t found guilty of match-fixing, he was one of ten players implicated in snooker’s largest corruption scandal in 2023.

Although entered into this year’s tournament as an amateur, Zhao’s pedigree told a different story. A former UK Championship winner, he dominated the Q Tour to earn a new two-year professional card and was handed a qualifying spot by the WPBSA. He took full advantage, winning four matches at the English Institute of Sport to return to the Crucible—and he hasn’t looked back since.

O’Sullivan never found rhythm

O’Sullivan arrived in Sheffield short of sharpness, having taken a three-month break from professional snooker for medical reasons. His last match before the Championship came in early January, and although he battled through earlier rounds, he never looked fully comfortable.

Despite victories over Ali Carter, Pang Junxu and Si Jiahui, the Rocket hadn’t been pushed to his limits—until Zhao exposed his struggles with a ruthless performance.

After an evenly poised 4-4 opening session, Zhao turned on the style in the second, whitewashing O’Sullivan 8-0 to move 12-4 in front. It was only the fourth time in Crucible history that O’Sullivan had suffered a session whitewash—more than any other player in the tournament’s history.

He needed to win at least four frames in the evening session to force a fourth and final day of play, but could only muster three, as Zhao closed out a landmark win. 

The 27-year-old will now become only the second Chinese player to contest a Crucible final, after Ding Junhui.

“I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem”

After the match, O’Sullivan admitted he was far from surprised by the outcome, confessing that his game has been off for a while.

“I wasn’t that bothered to be fair to you. I wasn’t surprised, I’ve been playing like that a lot in practise. It’s just hard to get my head around it. I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem.”

Earlier in the tournament, O’Sullivan had said he planned to continue playing professionally for at least two more years. But after his semi-final defeat, he cast doubt on that timeline.

“I know I said I’d like to give it two years, but if I’m gonna play like it, it’s pretty pointless. It’s not good.”

Respect between two artists

Despite the disappointment, there was a heartwarming exchange between O’Sullivan and Zhao at the end of the match. The seven-time champion applauded Zhao’s performance and was eager not to detract from the moment.

“We’ve got a really nice relationship; I’m always trying to help him if I can. He wanted the crowd to give me clap, but it’s his moment. I tried to get off as quick as I could cause it’s his moment, you know.”

O’Sullivan also praised Zhao’s potential to become a superstar—not just in snooker, but back home in China.

“It’d be amazing if he did it. He’d be a mega star, he’s still very big in China as it is. But if he becomes world champion, he’ll be unbelievable. It will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well.”

“He’ll have more of a test in the final”

When asked whether Zhao could go all the way and win the title against either Judd Trump or Mark Williams, O’Sullivan was optimistic—but realistic.

“He can definitely get over the line. But he’ll have more of test against the other two guys in the semis. I think that’ll be a proper test for him.”