BBC snooker pundits address Zhao Xintong's 20-month ban after World Championship win

BBC snooker pundits Steve Davis and John Parrott both gave their verdict on the new world champion Zhao Xintong, who played at the World Championship for the first time since serving a 20-month suspension. The Chinese cueman defeated Mark Williams 18-12 in a dominant Crucible performance, but his title may still have something of a cloud over it.

He was banned in 2023 following an investigation into match-fixing, which saw 10 players sanctioned. He did not fix a match himself, but accepted charges of being party to another player fixing matches and betting on games.

However, both Davis and Parrott felt that he had served his time and was deserving of a second chance in snooker.

"He has a blip on his CV, but I'm sure everyone in the country will agree people deserve a second chance," Davis said.

Echoing those sentiments, Parrott added: "It's a second chance and he's totally redeemed himself. He did the crime, he's had the time, he held his hand up, the association has handled it with the punishment he got.

"Two of his compatriots got life bans, it was handled very well. Here he is, he's got a second chance, he's come back and he won't be doing it again."

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