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 has made history with his World Snooker Championship final win over Mark Williams at the Crucible.Zhao needed just one more frame in Monday night’s fourth and final session in Sheffield to clinch the title and eventually wrapped up an 18-12 triumph following a last-gasp rally from Williams,