Zhao Xintong produced a devastating display to win the German Masters, trouncing compatriot Yan Bingtao 9-0 in Sunday’s final at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
Both players needed to come from behind and battle through their respective semi-finals a day earlier, but Zhao was flawless in the final as he picked apart his opponent to claim his second ranking title of the season following his UK Championship triumph in December.
Yan might have ridden his luck to get past Ryan Day and Mark Allen earlier in the week, but he had nothing to smile about in a bruising opening session to the final that meant the evening’s fare would be little more than a formality, Zhao needing only a single frame and little over 20 minutes to finish the job.
Frame seven probably best summed up Yan’s day, a break of 60 looking sure to get him on the board after losing the first six frames, only for Zhao to step in with a fluent run of 70 and inflict another body blow on the 2021 Masters champion.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao had raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to breaks of 74, 118 and 82, and though Yan had his chances in the second half of the session, Xhao kept his foot on the throttle and further contributions of 89 and 68 increased his lead to 6-0.
When Yan let slip his golden chance in the seventh frame, the game was almost up and Zhao dominated frame eight to end a session of complete dominance from start to finish.
The players returned a few hours later and were welcomed by a typically electric Tempodrom atmosphere, but any hopes of a memorable comeback were quickly put to bed as Zhao closed out the match in the manner of the great champion he will surely become.
Zhao told World Snooker Tour: "It was a surprise for me tonight. I couldn’t believe the scoreline was so one-sided. Bingtao is a good player and we know each other so well. I didn’t believe I could win 9-0, but I did it."
"When I was 4-0 up at the mid-session this afternoon, I went out and talked to Bingtao. I could see he was under pressure. I said to him you don’t need to do this, you can play like it is a show. We are very friendly and I wanted it to be a show for the fans.
"Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and tonight we will go back to the UK. This tournament is very different for us because of the Chinese New Year and tomorrow we will maybe have a few drinks."
Yan added: "He played very well today. I was feeling a little bit of pressure and missed so many balls.
"I enjoyed playing here with a very good friend. Every time I come to Berlin I really enjoy being here and I want to thank everyone who came today.
"Congratulations to Zhao."