Xintong falls victim to Ding Curse
Zhao Xintong lost his first snooker match for nine months as he fell victim to the Ding Junhui Curse.
Kyren Wilson moved into Sunday’s final of the Shanghai Masters with a superb 10-5 victory over China’s reigning world snooker champion.
The Warrior, 33, scored breaks of 66, 75, 70, 95, 70, 101 and 51 across the 15 frames and crucially claimed all SIX frames in the evening session.
For Xintong, it was a first defeat since losing to Shaun Murphy in the Last 32 of the UK Championship in York on November 23, 2024.
After that loss in the North Yorkshire cathedral city, Xintong won an astonishing 26 matches in a row, which included lifting the Crucible crown in historic scenes for his country.
But Xintong’s Far East homecoming was ruined by the Kettering cueist as he completely flopped in the evening action.
The Cyclone potted breaks of 113, 59, 95 and then a 121 to lead 5-4 in the afternoon but when nighttime came, he was outclassed by the Englishman.
And forget all about the Crucible Curse, which he has to negotiate next spring in Sheffield – the Curse of Ding Junhui struck again in a competitive environment.
This was the 21st time in a row that someone had beaten Ding, 38, and then LOST their next match.
A run that stretches back to John Higgins being the first victim at the Players Championship in February 2024 in Telford.
