AMATEUR ace Zhao Xintong has set his sights on a controversial Crucible crown – thanks to eye surgery.
The day after three-time world champion potter Mark Williams said he was booked to have a lens replacement op, the part-time Chinese cueist announced he had his eyes corrected during his exile from the sport.
Xintong, 28, is third favourite for the title – at odds of 9-2 – behind Judd Trump and Mark Selby and now faces debutant Lei Peifan in the second round.
Yet the elephant in the room is the 20-month suspension he served after he was done for betting breaches in a match-fixing storm that involved nine other countrymen.
Xintong hit a 142 in frame five of his 10-4 win over last year’s runner-up Jak Jones and he said: “For two years I had no tournament.
“But I kept practising and I had laser surgery because although I won the UK Championship and the German Masters, I could not see properly.
“Now I can see everything and I think I’m stronger than I was two years ago.
“I’m very happy [that people say I can win it] but I will just try my best. I’ve played four qualifying matches so it gives me some confidence.”
Jones, 31, said: “Xintong is a top-16 player who played the qualifiers and you could see it in his sharpness.
“He put me under so much pressure and he will be hard to stop.
“I don’t see anyone who’s playing better than him. His long potting is good, his scoring is good, and he’s good tactically.
“I don’t see anyone better than him in this tournament.”
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[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Higgins breaks down” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6371769228112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]No.8 seed Mark Allen made round two for the 14th time in 19 appearances as he beat qualifier Fan Zhengyi 10-6, having been 3-0 behind.
The Pistol, who hit breaks of 105 and 102, now faces Chris Wakelin on Thursday afternoon.