Chinese hopeful Zhao claims first win at World Snooker Championship

LONDON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhao Xintong won his first match at the World Snooker Championship after seeing off qualifier Jamie Clarke 10-2 on Sunday.

Zhao, 25, qualified for the final stages of the year-ending tournament with a highest career ranking of world number seven.

After the first session on Saturday, Zhao comfortably led Clarke 7-2. When they returned to the table on Sunday, Zhao took three frames in a row to reach the last 16.

"This is my first win at the Crucible so I'm very happy," Zhao was quoted as saying by the World Snooker Tour website. "I need more confidence for the next match, so this win is very important to me."

Zhao competed at the 2019 World Championship, but lost to Mark Selby in the opening round. He made a breakthrough this season by winning his maiden ranking title at the UK Championship last December, before adding another trophy in the German Masters.

"Even when I was 9-2 up I still felt pressure and I needed to finish the match quickly so that the pressure didn't build," said Zhao.

Elsewhere, world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan, who is making his 30th appearance at the Crucible Theatre, defeated David Gilbert 10-5.

"Whatever I'm doing now I try to be the best I can be," said the six-time world champion. "30 appearances doesn't really mean anything to me. I want to be a champion and do the business. That's what I'm proud of. I don't care about centuries, I don't care about maximums. I just care about how many majors I've won. It's all about those."

The 2022 World Championship will run until May 2.