2025 Snooker World Championship Finals: Two left-handers will compete for the championship, Zhao Xintong may become a "superstar"

In the semifinals of the 2025 World Snooker Championship on the 3rd local time, three-time champion Mark Williams defeated world No. 1 Judd Trump 17-14 and became the oldest player ever to reach the final of the World Championship. The Welshman, who turns 50 in March, overtook his compatriot Ray Reardon, a six-time world champion who made his debut in the 1982 final at the age of 49.

Three-time champion Mark Williams became the oldest player ever to reach a World Championship final

Mark Williams fell behind 3-7 at the beginning of the game, but his persistent performance allowed him to tie the semifinal game with 2019 World Champion Trump to 8-8 on the 2nd, and then won the two-stage match on the 3rd to avenge the 2022 World Championship semifinal loss to Trump with a score of 16-17.

Mark Williams told BBC Sport after the game that he started to have convulsions towards the end of the game and he did feel a little tension in his back arm. In addition, "I can't believe I'm in the final again – to be honest, I don't know how I'm playing".

Zhao Xintong stepped on the shoulder of the rocket in the semifinals and reached the final of the World Championships

The 35-year-old Trump hopes to increase his World Championship count since reaching the top in 2019, but this time his dream of becoming a second World Championship title is dashed in the face of Mark Williams' good touch. Trump said: "Mark was the more consistent player throughout the whole process and in the end he really deserved this victory. There was no negative side, I tried my best, I just lost motivation. "Anyone other than Mark and me could make it to the final, so I think you just have to pay tribute to him, he's been so good in those three days and I'll try to improve next year."

If Zhao Xintong can win the 2025 World Championships, he will create a new history of Chinese snooker

Mark Williams will face China's Zhao Xintong, who has reached the World Championship final for the first time in his career, in a World Championship final featuring two left-handers. Their ultimate matchup of 35 games and 18 wins will start at 8 p.m. Beijing time on the 4th. According to British media, Zhao Xintong was suspended at the start of the season due to a match-fixing scandal, but if he becomes the first Chinese player to win a world title, he will become the sport's new "superstar".