15 January 2026, London — Zhao Xintong, the 28-year-old Chinese world champion, opened his 2026 Masters campaign with a commanding 6–2 victory over England’s Gary Wilson at Alexandra Palace, The WP Times reports.Playing his first Masters as reigning Crucible champion, Zhao produced a devastating display of attacking snooker, firing in five breaks over 50 to turn a tense opening into a one-sided contest.
The victory sends Zhao into the quarter-finals and keeps alive his historic bid to become the first Asian player ever to complete snooker’s Triple Crown — a rare feat achieved by only a handful of elite competitors — while reinforcing his position near the top of the world rankings and highlighting his impressive scoring statistics, including multiple 50+ breaks in key matches at the 2026 Masters.
What happened on 15 January at the Masters
Zhao Xintong walked into the Johnstone’s Paint Masters in London under a very different spotlight to his previous appearance in this tournament. This time, he arrived not as a promising outsider, but as the reigning world champion, carrying both expectation and the weight of history on his shoulders.
Against Gary Wilson, Zhao initially fell behind after the Englishman took the opening frame with a fluent 76 break. For a brief moment, Wilson looked settled. That proved to be his only period of control.
From there, Zhao unleashed the kind of attacking snooker that has made him one of the most feared players on the circuit. He rattled in breaks of 50, 51, 54 and 72, dismantling Wilson’s resistance and turning the match into a showcase of his scoring power.
The decisive moment came in the seventh frame when Wilson missed a difficult green with the rest and then failed to recover with his safety. Zhao seized the opening, moved 5–2 ahead and never looked back. A calm, clinical 67 break in the next frame sealed a 6–2 victory — and with it, Zhao’s first ever win at the Masters.
Why this Masters win matters
The Masters is not just another tournament. Alongside the World Championship and the UK Championship, it forms snooker’s Triple Crown — the three titles that define greatness in the modern era. Zhao already owns two of them:
- UK Championship — 2021
- World Championship — 2025
The Masters is the final missing piece. If Zhao wins it this week, he would become the first Asian player in history to complete the Triple Crown — a landmark achievement that would place him among the sport’s true elite.
Who is Zhao Xintong
Born in 1997, Zhao Xintong turned professional in 2016 and quickly earned a reputation as one of snooker’s most naturally gifted attacking players. His game is built on long-range potting, fearless shot selection and fast scoring, often overwhelming opponents before they have time to settle.
His breakthrough arrived in 2021, when he stormed to victory at the UK Championship, one of the sport’s most prestigious events. He followed that up in 2022 with the German Masters, delivering a devastating 9–0 win in the finalthat highlighted his ability to dominate even at the highest level.
In 2025, Zhao rewrote the sport’s history books by becoming the first Chinese and first Asian World Snooker Champion at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield — the ultimate test of mental strength and consistency in snooker. That victory transformed him from a dangerous contender into a genuine global star.
Zhao Xintong’s career at a glance
| Tournament | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| UK Championship | 2021 | Winner |
| German Masters | 2022 | Winner |
| World Championship | 2025 | Winner |
| Masters | 2026 | First win, through to quarter-finals |
How Zhao Xintong wins matches
What separates Zhao Xintong from many of his rivals is not just his potting, but the speed and authority with which he takes control of frames. Where others look to grind opponents down, Zhao looks to finish them off in a single visit. His game is built around three key weapons:
- Early table-opening shots, often long-range pots that immediately shift the balance of a frame
- Rapid 50-plus breaks that deny opponents any rhythm or second chances
- Aggressive positional play that keeps the cue ball in attacking areas and forces rivals into defensive survival mode
When Zhao finds his rhythm, matches can turn in a matter of minutes. That is exactly what unfolded against Gary Wilson at Alexandra Palace, where one lost opening frame was followed by a run of heavy scoring that effectively decided the contest before Wilson could regroup.
Who Zhao plays next — dates, opponents and what’s at stake
After his 6–2 win over Gary Wilson at Alexandra Palace, Zhao Xintong has moved into the quarter-finals of the 2026 Johnstone’s Paint Masters, one of snooker’s three Triple Crown events being staged in London from 11 to 18 January.
Zhao is due to return to the table on Thursday 15 January at 13:00 GMT, when he will face John Higgins, the four-time Masters champion, in a best-of-11 frames quarter-final. Higgins earned his place with a 6–2 victory over Barry Hawkins in the last 16, extending a striking pattern at this year’s tournament in which every opening-round match has finished by the same scoreline.
The meeting sets up a classic contrast of styles. Higgins brings decades of elite-level experience and tactical control, while Zhao arrives with the confidence of a reigning world champion and the momentum of a commanding first-round performance.
Should Zhao progress, he will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday 17 January, with the winners of the other quarter-finals — involving players such as Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Neil Robertson and Kyren Wilson — waiting for him. The 2026 Masters final will be played on Sunday 18 January, bringing the week-long invitational to a close at Alexandra Palace.
For Zhao, this route — from Wilson to Higgins and potentially into the weekend — is not just a test of his scoring power, but of his consistency, tactical discipline and mental resilience under the intense spotlight of one of snooker’s flagship events.
Can Zhao Xintong win the Masters 2026
Zhao’s prospects at the 2026 Masters are more than just theoretical — they are grounded in form, format and motivation. There are three key reasons why his chances look compelling:
1. He is in champion form
World champions often find the months after a Crucible triumph challenging, as the burden of expectation grows heavier with every match. Zhao, however, showed no signs of that pressure in his opening tie against Gary Wilson. He played freely, scored heavily and demonstrated the kind of attacking rhythm that has become his trademark.
2. The tournament’s knockout format favours momentum
The Masters is a straight knockout event. Once a player reaches the quarter-finals, only three victories stand between them and the title. Zhao is already one of those three wins closer — and in a tournament where confidence and momentum can quickly become decisive, that matters.
3. He is chasing history
Very few players get the opportunity to complete snooker’s Triple Crown — winning the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters. Zhao has already captured the first two. The Masters is the final, elusive piece. That historic motivation can be as powerful as any technical or tactical advantage on the table.
What a Masters title would mean — and the prize at stake
If Zhao Xintong lifts the Masters trophy this week, the achievement would be monumental on multiple levels:
- He would become the first Asian player in history to complete snooker’s Triple Crown.
- He would join an elite group of around 12 players who have held all three major titles.
- He would be acknowledged as the most successful Chinese player the sport has ever produced.
- Perhaps most importantly, it would underscore that his 2025 World Championship win was not a one-off, but the beginning of a truly elite career.
In addition to the prestige, the Masters offers significant prize money: in recent seasons the winner’s purse has been around £250,000, with runners-up and semi-finalists receiving progressively smaller amounts. A victory this week would not only secure Zhao’s place in snooker history, but also reinforce his financial standing at the top of the professional game.
Why British fans are watching closely
The Masters at Alexandra Palace has long been snooker’s iconic mid-season showcase, where the sport’s biggest names compete under intense scrutiny from both live audiences and TV viewers across the UK. Zhao’s presence — and his performance on 15 January — represents something new: a global champion challenging the sport’s traditional heartland. His blend of fearless attacking play, rapid scoring and high-pressure composure is reshaping expectations about how modern snooker can be played at the highest level. For British fans, this week in London could define the next chapter of his career, and perhaps mark a shift in the centre of gravity of professional snooker itself.
Zhao Xintong at the 2026 Masters — snapshot
| Category | Status |
|---|---|
| Reigning world champion | Yes |
| Masters 2026 first match | Beat Gary Wilson 6–2 |
| Quarter-final opponent | John Higgins |
| Triple Crown status | Needs Masters to complete |
| Title chances | Live contender |
| Approximate winner’s prize | ~£250,000 |
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Photo collage – Instagram screenshot Zhao Xintong
