Zhao becomes 1st Asian to win Snooker World Championship

LONDON - China's Zhao Xintong became the first Asian player to win the World Snooker Championship after beating veteran Mark Williams 18-12 on Monday.

"I can't believe it. It's like a dream," said Zhao, who served out a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations last September and earned his place at the snooker worlds by winning four qualifiers as an amateur.

The 28-year-old dominated Sunday's first two sessions at 11-6 and improved his advantage to 17-8 after the third session on Monday.

With Zhao only one frame away from making history, the 50-year-old Williams launched a strong fightback by taking four frames in a row at the start of the final session.

But the three-time world champion couldn't hold off Zhao further, as the Chinese wrapped the contest up by winning the 30th frame with a break of 87.

Starting his first qualifying match on April 7, Zhao maintained his sensational form to win 111 frames across nine matches to become the world champion.

"What an opponent he is," said Williams. "I've got nothing but admiration for what he has done. "

Zhao will start the next season as the world No. 11, while there are nine more Chinese players in the world's top 32.

Ding Junhui was the first Asian to reach the final at the World Championship in 2016 before losing to Mark Selby.