John Higgins thinks history could be made at the World Snooker Championship this year, backing Zhao Xintong to break the infamous Crucible curse.
Zhao became China’s first world champion when he beat Mark Williams in the 2025 Sheffield final, having downed Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semis.
Now the Cyclone faces the Crucible curse as no first time world champion has ever defended their title at the Sheffield theatre.
Kyren Wilson was the latest to fall to the curse last year, but he is in good company as every modern great has been struck by the hex on the venue.
Higgins, who has won the World Championship four times, reckons Zhao can be the man to break the curse, believing his break-building prowess could fire him to the trophy again.
The Wizard of Wishaw was beaten by Zhao in the Players Championship final in February and labelled the Chinese superstar a ‘genius’ on the table.
Asked who is favourite for this year’s World Championship, Higgins said: ‘I think Xintong, the way he plays and how easy he wins frames, and just the way he goes about the patterns he’s got. I think Xintong is favourite.’
Pushed on whether the power of the curse will be a problem, the Wizard of Wishaw said: ‘No, I don’t think so. He’s that special a player, I think.’
Zhao is the only player who has won two ranking titles so far this season, with the trophies dished out to a wide array of cueists.
Barry Hawkins was asked the same question on Crucible favourite and the recent Welsh Open winner could not settle on an answer.
‘It’s so wide open,’ he said. ‘Who won the last tournament? Oh, Thepchaiya, I wouldn’t make him favourite, no.
‘It’s so hard. You’ve got [Judd] Trump. He’s been there or thereabouts all year, won a tournament.
‘Ronnie looks like he’s playing well, Xintong, if anyone’s going to break the curse, it could be him, there’s so many good players.
‘Mark [Selby] has got a chance. Looks like he’s been playing well most of the season, he’ll be grafting. I wouldn’t like to guess, to be honest. It’s too wide open.’
Hawkins wasn’t putting himself in the conversation, though, saying of his own chances: ‘Oh, mate, I just want to win the first game. I don’t fancy my chances at the moment, no.
‘I just want to get there and feel part of the tournament. It’d be nice just to get through that first hurdle. I think I’ve lost three first rounders the last four years. So first thing’s first, win that first game.’
The World Championship is set to stay at the Crucible until 2045, following last week’s announcement that the venue will be renovated and its capacity increased by 500 seats.
The reaction to the news has been largely positive, but the Hawk suggested it might not be enough of a boost to the numbers and the event could have moved elsewhere.
‘It’s great that snooker is staying there,’ said Hawkins. ‘I was one of the people that thought it needed a bigger and better venue. The tournament is too big for it, we can outsell that tournament three, four times over I think.
‘Do I think 500 seats is going to be enough? I don’t think it will to be honest with you.
‘It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it’s all done. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it will be good.
‘I wanted it to stay in Sheffield, but a bigger and better venue, we’ll see.’
Higgins and Hawkins are both looking to add another title to their collections before they head to Sheffield, competing at the Tour Championship this week.
In a repeat of last year’s final, which Higgins won, the Scot takes on Mark Selby in the quarter-finals over two sessions on Thursday.
There is enormous respect between the two four-time world champions, with Higgins saying of Selby: ‘I think every single player that holds a snooker cue knows how great a champion he is.
‘That’s all you should really be bothered about. You shouldn’t be bothered about the wider public and what they say about you or whatever. Every snooker player that plays the game knows what an unbelievable champion Selby is.
‘One of the greatest players that’s ever held a cue.’
Higgins beat another of the greatest to ever do it in his opening game in Manchester, downing fellow Class of 92 legend Mark Williams 10-8, which he feels will be a big boost for his confidence.
‘I’ve beat a lot of great players this year, but I’ve been losing games against them as well,’ he said. ‘So when you beat those sort of guys, it gives you an inner confidence, because I’ve been losing a lot of those matches, to a lot of them.
‘It’s special [to beat Williams]. Especially in the last two or three years, because we have played in such big events. He’s just always managed to pip me at the post and do great breaks, and it was good to get one back on him there. So it’s a great win for me.’
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