It's the clash that all Chinese snooker fans have been waiting for: a world championship contest between Shenzhen-born world snooker champion Zhao Xintong and his idol Ding Junhui from Jiangsu.

Days before the tournament started, CGTN spoke exclusively to both players at the event's Crucible headquarters, in the Northern English city of Sheffield.

Known as the 'Godfather' of Chinese snooker, 39-year-old Ding is the most successful Asian player in the sport's history. Winner of 15 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships, he became the first Asian player to reach a world championship final in 2016.

Nine years later this record was eclipsed by 29-year-old Zhao who took the world title, romping to an 18-12 win in the final against Mark Williams.

Despite his status as match favorite, Zhao is taking nothing for granted against his hero Ding.

He told CGTN's Li Jianhua: "I love Ding because when I was very young, he was my idol. In 2005 on my eighth birthday he won his first tournament. It was a big moment for me and I really remember that. Ding is a very, very good snooker player, and he can still play the perfect snooker. I know how good he is, so I really need to try to play well."

Ding is equally wary. He told CGTN: "It's hard to play. I think we know each other very well.

I feel okay and I also believe he (Zhao) will do much better than me in the future. 

“Look at his age. There's a lot of chances for him to break a lot of records from Chinese snooker history."

With a record 11 Chinese players among this year's 32-strong draw, it was inevitable that some would meet in the gilded arena of the Crucible.

In the first round this season's breakthrough player of the season Wu Yize beat compatriot Lei Peifan 10-2 on Monday. 

But it's the hotly-anticipated clash between Zhao and Ding that has really whet the appetites of the millions of Chinese fans back home. 

A reported 150 million people across China tuned in to watch Zhao's victory in last year's Halo World Championship final and a similar figure could watch this clash of the homegrown titans.

Bookie's favorite

The pair have met six times previously in major tournaments. The more experienced Ding won the first four matches, but Zhao emerged victorious in the next two. In their most recent bout, the quarter final of the 2025 Shanghai Masters last July, Zhao ran out the 6-1 winner.

Zhao is the bookie's tournament favorite, ahead of Judd Trump and Ronnie O' Sullivan who is bidding for a record eighth world title. But Zhao is wary of all his potential opponents. 

"For now, I think everybody can win this tournament, but I think the biggest ones are Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump because he's now the world number one. I know how good they are and they play perfect snooker, so I know it's a very, very tough game when I play with them," he said.

Zhao has been tipped by pundits to win the prestigious Triple Crown, consisting of the World Snooker Championship, The Masters, and the UK Championship. The player himself is trying not to let such talk unsettle him. 

"I just try to enjoy the snooker, not think a lot about The Master or the Triple Crown. Everybody is talking about me being the first Chinese triple crown winner but I just want to try to enjoy playing," Zhao added.

Embedded

The Chinese snooker community is deeply embedded in Sheffield. Zhao has lived there for nearly a decade and trains at Victoria's Snooker Academy in the city, while 39-year-old Ding runs his own snooker academy nearby. 

A total of 15 Chinese snooker players train at Ding's academy but Ding himself says the players try to keep a professional distance. 

"It was very lonely when I first turned pro. There were few Chinese players from China and we didn't talk much, because we had different match times. So at that time, we just kept focused on practice. 

"Now I think everyone (still) has their private time or their own time after practice. We can practice together every day, but after practice I think that everyone has their own friends and they want to have their own times to do something else. Sometimes we hang out for dinner."

Whether Ding and Zhao will be hanging out for dinner after their second round showdown is another matter, although the pair's mutual respect and affection is clear. 

The first session of the best-of-25 frames contest begins at 1330gmt on Friday.

Interview conducted by Li Jianhua