Snooker’s rich list as £500,000 winner Zhao Xintong to become ‘richest of all time’

 Zhao Xintong was crowned World Snooker Champion for the first time after defeating Mark Williams, and the Chinese star is now being tipped to overtake Ronnie O'Sullivan in snooker's prize money list

Zhao Xintong could become the 'richest player of all time' after winning the World Snooker Championship for the first time. The Chinese sensation, 28, beat three-time champion Mark Williams 18-12 in the Crucible final on Monday, having previously thrashed seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semis.

Zhao returned to the amateur tour in September 2024 off the back of serving a 20-month suspension after being found guilty of manipulating matches and gambling incidents from 2019 to 2022. Having been cleared of fixing his own matches but accepting other charges, he completed the minimum ban and went on to excel on the Q Tour.

The Cyclone has now earned himself a staggering £500,000 from his victory in Sheffield, which was watched by 150 million of his compatriots back in China.

And with Zhao set to become a household name amid snooker's exploding popularity in China, WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson has made an ambitious prediction about his future financial earnings in the sport.

Speaking on Zhao's earning potential, Ferguson said: "I think he has the potential to become the richest earning snooker player in the history of the sport. That's quite a bold statement when you think about the titles players like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan have won.

“But the size of the market is huge and, when you see the association of the brands who want to partner with snooker, it has endless potential. This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has ever seen.

"We've seen the growth in the China market and we've seen the size and scale of grassroots development underneath that. But to see a world champion returning to China a national hero is really going to send the sport to another level."

Zhao Xintong can become the "highest earning snooker player in history" (Image: George Wood, Getty Images)

Zhao’s half-a-million payday from his dominant Crucible victory now puts his total snooker earnings at £1,306,712. However, despite Ferguson's optimism, he stands only 50th among snooker's all-time top earners due to his relatively short career up to now, as well as his 20-month ban.

For perspective on how much Zhao still has to do to fulfil Ferguson’s prediction, his recently defeated rival O'Sullivan tops the list with an eye-watering £14.73m. The Rocket turned pro back in 1992 and holds most of the records in snooker.

Meanwhile, John Higgins is in second place on £10.53m thanks to his remarkable longevity. Boasting 30 ranking titles and five Triple Crowns, Judd Trump completes the podium, having amassed £9.28m.

With the conclusion of the World Snooker Championship, here are the top 10 snooker stars with the most career prize money of all time:

Ronnie O'Sullivan has £13m more than the Chinese star in snooker earnings(Image: Getty)

1 - Ronnie O Sullivan - £14.73m.

2 - John Higgins - £10.53m.

3 - Judd Trump - £9.28m.

4 - Stephen Hendry - £8.81m.

5 - Mark Selby - £8.51m.

6 - Mark Williams - £8.5m.

7 - Neil Robertson - £7.23m.

8 - Shaun Murphy - £6.43m.

9 - Mark Allen - £5.65m.

10 - Steve Davis - £5.62m.