China's Zhao storms into snooker worlds semis for first time

China's Zhao Xintong reached the semifinals of the World Snooker Championship for the first time on Wednesday, setting up a clash with seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Zhao, 28, breezed past Chris Wakelin 13-5, before O'Sullivan saw off Zhao's compatriot Si Jiahui 13-9. Zhao will play a best-of-33 match for the first time in his career, while 49-year-old O'Sullivan is heading to his 14th semifinal at the Crucible Theater.

Zhao served out a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations last September and earned his place at the World Championship by winning four qualifiers as an amateur.

"Maybe it's because I've been playing continuously for over 20 days now, this long format takes a toll on your concentration," the Chinese left-hander was quoted by the World Snooker Tour website as saying. "Physically I still feel okay, but mentally I wasn't as sharp as I was earlier in the tournament."

O'Sullivan described Zhao as a "fantastic talent" who would only get better. "But it takes more than talent to win this, you need steeliness. You are going to come up against someone really tough in the semis and final. You have got to stand up to the best players, so whether he can do that remains to be seen."

The other semifinal will be played between veteran Mark Williams and world No. 1 Judd Trump.

Williams held off a late fightback from John Higgins to edge past his long-time rival 13-12, while Trump took six frames in a row to see off Luca Brecel 13-8.