Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.

With “The Cyclone’s” victory demonstrating China's growing power in the sport, chair of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Jason Ferguson insists that snooker’s inclusion in the Olympic programme is now realistic.

Zhao Xintong’s sublime victory over Mark Williams at the Crucible means China has its first world snooker champion.The 26-year-old did it against strong headwinds too, having come through qualifying to reach the best-of-35 final and winning 111 frames over nearly a month of snooker to claim the title.