Story Of The 2025 Halo World Championship

The Theatre of Dreams lived up to its name at the 2025 Halo World Championship, with curses enacted, the realisation of a generational talent, the hopes of a nation fulfilled and the typical drama associated with the Crucible. Snooker's greatest show on earth once again delivered the goods.

Three week's on, here is a look back on how it all unfolded...

First Round

This year's edition of snooker's showpiece event got off to the most dramatic of starts, with the Crucible Curse striking Kyren Wilson on the opening evening, after a thrilling 10-9 loss to Chinese debutant Lei Peifan. 

Over the last 12 months, Wilson has a stunning first reign as Crucible King. The Warrior amassed four titles at the the Xi'an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open, German Masters and the Players Championship. 

Wilson stepped into the Crucible cauldron on the opening morning for what would prove to be a match packed with momentum swings. It was Lei who took the first two frames, before six on the spin for 33-year-old Wilson saw him move 6-2 up after the opening session. 

When play began for the evening, the match swung completely on its head. Scottish Open Champion Lei soared to seven on the bounce and moved one from victory at 9-6. Wilson showed his class with three on the spin to make it 9-9, but it was 21-year-old Lei who took the last to score a famous win. 

"It feels amazing. The Scottish Open was my first title and this was my Crucible debut — both moments are very special to me. The emotions were just as intense," said Lei.

Wilson said: "It's really hard to take, it really hurts. Lei potted some incredible balls and held himself together in the end, he seems like a cool character and I wish him all the best."

An ecstatic Hossein Vafaei couldn't contain his joy, as he roared out mid-clearance during the deciding frame of a 10-9 win over Barry Hawkins.

Vafaei was 50-0 up in the decider, but still some way shy of the winning post, when he roared out after potting a red to the green pocket.

The former Shoot Out champion went on to complete a break of 73 which saw him claim victory.

Ronnie O'Sullivan returned to the circuit in his first ranking event since November. He breezed past bitter rival Ali Carter 10-4.

Mark Williams prevailed 10-8 over the talented Wu Yize, despite fears of his deteriorating eyesight, and Zhao Xintong returned to the Crucible with a 10-4 win over last year's finalist Jak Jones.

Second Round

2023 World Champion Luca Brecel rocked up in Sheffield on a private jet just an hour ahead of his second round clash with Ding Junhui.

A sensational first session performance from the Belgian Bullet put him 7-1 up. Steve Davis described it as the greatest exhibition of snooker that he had ever seen at the Crucible Theatre. Over the next two sessions Brecel went on to seal a 13-4 victory. 

He revealed afterwards that Arsenal footballer, friend and compatriot Leandro Trossard arranged the jet he used to fly into Sheffield.

Brecel revealed: “I don’t like to hang around too long. I like to get here as late as possible. Even today, I only arrived 15 minutes before the game. That has always been my way and as long as it works, that is good. I booked the plane the day before. I know Trossard the Arsenal footballer and he arranged it for me."

The tie of the round saw world number one Judd Trump take on Masters champion Shaun Murphy in a blockbuster clash.

The Ace in the Pack enjoyed a landmark moment, as he crafted his 100th century of the season during the tie. That landed him a £100,000 bonus, but a place in the quarter-finals was the big prize. Eventually 2019 Crucible king Trump got over the line to seal a 13-10 victory in a hard fought tie.

It was a victory which sent a statement to the rest of the field. Murphy said afterwards: "If Judd sustains that level of performance, he will win the tournament, without question." 

Mark Allen became the first ever player to make a 147 in every Triple Crown event, but couldn't find a way past Chris Wakelin. Rugby's Wakelin, who beat Neil Robertson in the opening round, continued his best ever World Championship run with a 13-6 win.

Mark Williams and John Higgins prevailed in their second round contests to set up an epic Clash of 92 in the quarters. Williams battled past Hossein Vafaei 13-10, while Higgins edged a nerve shredding tie with Xiao Guodong 13-12. 

Quarter-Finals

Mark Williams scored one of his greatest ever Crucible match wins, seeing off old adversary John Higgins 13-12 in an epic contest. 

It all came down to the last few balls, with Higgins missing a match ball blue to a baulk corner. Williams cleared to the black to seal an incredible triumph. It's only the second time Higgins has lost a deciding frame at the Crucible, having won nine of his previous ten. 

These two snooker giants have been doing battle for 33 years at the highest level, with four-time World Champion Higgins now leading the head-to-head 22-21. Afterwards three-time Crucible king Williams recognised this win as a significant one in the context of his World Championship career. 

Williams said: "What a game and what an atmosphere. The crowd and the standing ovation helped me through it. John and I are getting on a bit and we have given a lot back to the sport, and been decent ambassadors to try to grow it. Hopefully the crowd appreciate that and they know we might not play each other many more times. The support for both of us was incredible."

That set up a last four meeting with 2019 World Champion Judd Trump, who prevailed 13-8 in a high quality quarter-final with 2023 winner Luca Brecel. 

The other semi-final would be a generational meeting between China's most talented star under the age of 30 Zhao Xintong and the greatest player of all-time Ronnie O'Sullivan. The Rocket came through 13-9 against Si Jiahui, while Zhao defeated Chris Wakelin 13-5. 

Semi-Finals

Zhao Xintong moved to the precipice of sporting immortality, after demolishing his childhood hero Ronnie O'Sullivan 17-7 with a session to spare. 

The 2021 UK Champion was too strong for 49-year-old O'Sullivan, who failed to summon his brilliant best. The Rocket changed the ferrule on his cue from titanium to brass mid-match, but that seemed to cause him to struggle even more. After the match, Zhao went to O'Sullivan's dressing room to speak and the two embraced. 

Zhao had to come through four rounds of qualifying to even make it to the Theatre of Dreams. He returned to snooker earlier in the year, after serving a 20 month ban for breaching betting regulations. Competing on the amateur circuit, he won four of seven Q Tour events to ensure professional status for next season. Those events were held in clubs, a far cry from this astonishing win over seven-time World Champion O'Sullivan on the sport's most iconic stage.

Zhao said: "These past few years, I’ve been working hard to improve my game in practice. Now my shot selections are more reasonable and solid. If I play Mark Williams in the final, I’ll give it my best. I don’t think there’s any other sport where someone can still achieve so much at the age of 50. I have huge respect for Ronnie and Mark, what they’re doing is incredible."

His final opponent did turn out to be Williams, who produced a colossal display to beat Judd Trump 17-14 to earn his place in snooker's biggest match. 

From 7-3 down, Williams rallied to overhaul Trump and claim a momentous victory. It avenged a 17-16 defeat here in the semi-finals three years ago and a 10-9 loss on the last black in the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters last September.

Williams said: "I was under pressure and felt it, so to make a century to get to the final - I can't believe it. I have played well all through the tournament. I don't know how I am competing with the number one player in the world, over a three-day match."

The Final

History was guaranteed in a final which would see either China's first ever World Champion or the oldest Crucible winner. Chinese 28-year-old Zhao Xintong crossed cues with Welsh 50-year-old Mark Williams. 

The pair emerged to a rapturous ovation for the opening session, but after a day off it was Zhao who was clearly the fresher of the two. He blitzed his way to a 7-1 advantage at the end of the afternoon, with an early stranglehold on the final. 

Williams rallied in the second session but he still trailed by an 11-6 scoreline. No player has ever overturned an overnight Crucible final deficit of five or more. It looked to be a bridge too far for Williams, who slipped 17-8 behind following the afternoon session on day two. He gave his supporters hope with four on the bounce in the evening to make it 17-12, but a brilliant break of 87 saw Zhao get over the line and achieve his dream.

Zhao becomes the 24th player to lift the trophy at the Crucible and the first Asian. Unranked at the time, he jumped to 11th in the Johnstone's Paint World Rankings ahead of next season, and indeed will be seeded second for most events as World Champion. 

"I can't believe it, I'm very excited," said Zhao after draping himself in a Chinese flag. "I was so nervous tonight. Mark is still a top player and put me under so much pressure. I will have a good drink tonight! Thank you to everyone in the crowd. It feels like a dream. Thank you to my parents, (manager) Victoria, my girlfriend, my coach when I was young, to WST, WPBSA and the CBSA academy."

Williams said: "I was never in the final from the start, it was the only match where I didn't play well. I've had really tough, close matches. If I had got out of the first session 5-3 that would have been a result, but unfortunately it was 7-1. I gave it a go tonight but I was too far behind."