World Snooker Championship: Zhao Xintong leaves fans stunned with 'amazing' hat-trick shot during Shaun Murphy clash
Zhao Xintong battled back from going 5-3 down against Shaun Murphy to end Tuesday's evening session 8-8; during the match, the defending champion produced a moment of brilliance, potting three reds with one shot
Last Updated: 29/04/26 12:43pm
Zhao Xintong produced an incredible 'hat-trick shot' to pot three balls at once during his thrilling quarter-final tie against Shaun Murphy on Tuesday at the World Snooker Championship.
The rare moment came in the tenth frame, with Zhao's brilliance stunning the Crucible crowd.
It was a risky shot, with the world No 4 knowing that a mishit could split the pack and open up a chance for Murphy.
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He rebounded a red off the rest into a large cluster of object balls, before it careered off into the bottom-left pocket on the table.
The ricochet saw another ball trickle its way into the bottom right corner, as another rolled into the left.
"You don't see that very often," former snooker player Lee Walker told the BBC.
"Amazing shot," John Parrot added.
Despite that, the defending champion was unable to take the frame, missing a straightforward shot to the bottom left pocket to break down on 55 points. Murphy entered the fray, and a break of 59 would see him wrestle the frame from Zhao.
Keep across the latest scores and schedule updates from the World Snooker Championship 2026 here.
O'Sullivan vows to follow the money after exit
Ronnie O'Sullivan vowed to follow the money next season after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship in a dramatic 13-12 defeat to John Higgins.
O'Sullivan continues to pick and choose his appearances but his future earning potential has been hit by the recent cancellation of the Saudi Masters, two years into a lucrative 10-year contract.
The seven-time Crucible champion, who started a snooker academy in Riyadh around the time of the original deal in 2024, said: "Any tournament I go to, they all know they have to get the chequebook out.
"If that stops, then I stop. Whenever it is - Saudi, Qatar, China, here, whatever it is - I always make sure I've got some sort of fee coming because otherwise people know that I won't turn up.
"I have other options so I'm not really worried. Hopefully Saudi will still want to do some stuff, but we'll have to wait and see.
"I'll make my decisions based on whatever happens there."
Top players have expressed frustration at the cancellation of the Saudi event, the second most lucrative on the calendar, although the non-ranking Riyadh Season Snooker Championship - complete with 1 million US dollars 'golden ball' - is expected to continue.
O'Sullivan, who is currently based in Dubai, has played in less than half of the available ranking tournaments this season, and missed every UK event bar the World and UK Championships.
Conversely, he is still intent on returning to The Crucible to play in the World Seniors Championship at the end of next week, where he will start against either Ken Doherty or Gerard Greene on May 8.
"If my sponsors are on board then I'll play, but I'm not two-feet in like most of the guys," added O'Sullivan.
"I'm just grateful to be playing and enjoying my playing. If I don't enjoy it, I'll take time out - we'll see.
"I'll just go back to Ireland, chill there and come back whenever I've got to play. It's work. Got to go to work. Got bills to pay. Got a lot of people on the payroll."
