Ken Doherty proven right as Zhao Xintong leaves snooker stars 'up in arms'

Snooker ace and pundit Ken Doherty's prediction of 's stunning victory has left 's top stars engaged in a dispute. The Chinese star 18-12 on Monday to become the first Asian player to claim the title.

Heading into the tournament as one of 16 qualifiers due to his suspension in regards to his involvement in snooker's biggest match-fixing scandal, Zhao competed in the event as a amateur. While the 28-year-old wasn't convicted of personally fixing games, he did plead guilty to his involvement in another player fixing two matches while betting on games himself. After a 20-month ban from the sport and a fine of £7,500, he returned to the table in September 2024 and to the Crucible last month after a three-year absence from the iconic Sheffield venue.

Zhao advanced through four preliminary rounds and was earmarked as a potential winner of the tournament by Doherty, who told Gambling.com: "There's a few dark horses in there, and a couple of them would be Chinese. One is Zhao Xintong, who's won four matches. If Kyren Wilson and Zhao Xintong come through those first matches, they will play each other in the last 16.

"That would be a good test for Kyren Wilson. Zhao would be a dark horse for me. When he did break the rules, he wasn't gambling on the matches or he wasn't throwing matches like some of the players who were banned." Doherty was certainly proved right but noted the drama fallout that would occur after Xintong's win over Williams.

Despite his amateur status, the 28-year-old's £500,000 prize money will count towards his professional ranking with the new world champion now sitting at No. 11. He'll also be seeded second for every tournament next season with the exception of the Worlds, given his status as defending champion.

Discussing the anger that would result from the decision, the BBC pundit said: "The big question at this point is about the prize money. A lot of players are a bit up in arms about it. The rules might have been changed, if he wins the Championship he keeps the prize money, when it should be going to scratch when he picks up his tour card."

It didn't take long for some of snooker's top stars to make their thoughts known, with former world number one Mark Allen replying to a post of Doherty's comments with an extract of the World Snooker Tour [WST] qualification rules for the 2025-26 season. He captioned the screenshot with: "Makes this part of our entry packs a little more difficult to understand. I'm sure @TheCaptain147 [Ali Carter] is buzzing to hear this."

With Zhao's rise to No. 11, it's two-time world championship finalist Ali Carter who is set to drop out of the top 16, which means have to currently qualify for next year's World Championships and UK Championship, as it stands. While time on his side to clinch a spot back into the top 16 with the latter event taking place in Novvember, the Captain echoed Allen's thoughts by retweeting his X post.

He then adding his own thoughts on the situation, insisting he has no ill will towards Zhao, but instead with decisions made by the ranking body. "My issue isn't with Zhao at all," he confirmed. "My issue is the fact there's a rule in the entry pack for our events that they're blatantly contradicting to suit themselves.

"Change the rule for next season if you like but everyone entered knowing what the rules were and the goalposts have moved. What's the point in having rules/criteria if you just change it after the fact whenever suits? I'm baffled how people can't see how poor this is. It's amazing how people who think it's ok. Also, this is something that doesn't affect me in the slightest."