𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s hopes of an eighth World Snooker Championship crown were destroyed as Zhao Xintong thrashed him 17-7 with a session to spare in Sheffield.

Zhao took a stranglehold on the semi-final by winning all eight frames in a remarkable session on Friday morning – only the fourth whitewash of O’Sullivan’s long Crucible career.

It meant a 12-4 advantage for Zhao and O’Sullivan, out of sorts after having the tip and ferrule on his cue changed overnight, was unable to force a momentum shift when play resumed on Friday evening.

Zhao’s aggressive break-building piled the pressure on O’Sullivan and there was no stopping him becoming the second Chinese player to reach the World Championship final after Ding Junhui in 2016.

There was a lovely moment at the end as the two men shook hands and Zhao applauded his hero O’Sullivan.