Zhao Xintong has been warned by his manager not to let fame and fortune go to his head after becoming snooker’s first Asian world champion.
The 28-year-old made history at the Crucible by dismantling three-time champion Mark Williams 18-12 in the final, having thrashed Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 in the semis. Zhao’s victory earned him £500,000 in prize money, with millions more likely to follow from endorsements in China, where a staggering 150 million people watched him lift the title.
But his manager, Victoria Shi, who runs the Sheffield snooker academy where Zhao has trained for almost a decade, has vowed to keep her star client grounded. Posing with him and the trophy after his triumph, Shi celebrated the moment but made clear she’s ready to step in if Zhao splurges his newfound wealth.
“Let him enjoy [the money],” Shi told reporters. “But if he enjoys it too much, I will tell him off. He is the first Asian world champion and that is huge. But it is my job to make sure he stays grounded.”
Zhao’s fairytale run at the 2025 World Snooker Championship has captivated fans around the world, especially in his native China. The victory has sparked a frenzy of support at home and elevated him to national hero status.
However, the fairytale has a complex backstory. Just two years ago, Zhao served a 20-month suspension following a major match-fixing probe. Although he never threw a match himself, he admitted to betting on snooker and knowing that another player was fixing results. The ban, which began in January 2023, sidelined him at a pivotal point in his career, and many thought he would struggle to return to the elite level.
Instead, he’s roared back in sensational fashion—dismantling legends, lifting the game’s most coveted prize, and rewriting the sport’s history books in the process.
Still, with global fame and money flooding in, Zhao’s support team isn’t taking any chances. His manager’s half-joking threat is a reminder that the path to becoming a sports icon doesn’t end at the trophy presentation—it only begins.
Shi’s bond with Zhao is more than professional. She’s mentored the Xi’an-born talent since he arrived in the UK, long before he was a household name. And while she was clearly proud as they posed for photographs, Shi’s words carried the weight of someone determined to protect her protégé from the pitfalls of sudden superstardom.
Zhao, for his part, remained modest in the aftermath, even making a generous gesture to fans by returning to the Crucible the day after his win. He shook hands, signed autographs, and posed for photos—an act that won him even more admiration among snooker faithful.
There may be bigger commercial deals and even more silverware on the horizon for Zhao Xintong, but Victoria Shi has no intention of letting it go to his head. As the world watches China’s new sporting icon rise, his manager will be watching even closer.
