World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O’Sullivan Suffers Historic Whitewash Against Zhao Xintong

Ronnie O’Sullivan endured one of the worst sessions of his career as Zhao Xintong dominated their World Snooker Championship semi-final, winning all eight frames on Friday morning to take a commanding 12-4 lead.

Key Highlights:

• Historic Whitewash: Only the fourth time in O’Sullivan’s 33-year Crucible career he’s lost a session 8-0.
• Cue Troubles Backfire: O’Sullivan changed his cue tip overnight after calling it awful – the move spectacularly misfired.
• Zhao’s Brilliance: The Chinese qualifier made breaks of 112, 115, 87, 82, and two 57s in a near-flawless display.
• Mountain to Climb: O’Sullivan needs 12 of the remaining 13 frames to avoid defeat in this best-of-33 encounter.

Session Breakdown:

Zhao took complete control before the mid-session interval with four consecutive frames (57, 112, 82, 57), leaving O’Sullivan to score just 50 points across them. The punishment continued afterward with breaks of 67, 115, and 87 completing the whitewash.

Expert Reaction:

BBC commentator John Virgo called it scintillating snooker… a phenomenal performance. Changing of the guard maybe, right here, right now.

Other Semi-Final:

In Friday’s afternoon session, Judd Trump and Mark Williams battled to an 8-8 stalemate after Williams fought back from 7-3 down. Their match resumes Saturday at 10am.

Upcoming Schedule:

• Evening Session (7pm): Zhao Xintong vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (Zhao needs 5 more frames)
• Saturday: Both semi-finals conclude, with the final beginning Sunday afternoon.

Historical Context:

Only John Higgins (1998), Graeme Dott (2006), and John Parrott (1994) had previously whitewashed O’Sullivan in a Crucible session. At 49, this marks one of O’Sullivan’s most challenging career moments as he seeks an eighth world title.

Zhao, banned for 20 months in a match-fixing scandal, could become China’s first world champion if he maintains this form. The 28-year-old has won 45 of 47 matches since his return to competition.