Shaun Murphy has given his view on Zhao Xintong’s return from a 20-month ban (Image: Getty)
has been drawn against Zhao Xintong in the just days after the star made his stance clear on playing against his controversial rival.
The pair have been drawn to play each other in the first round of the event at the York Barbican after Zhao came through four rounds of qualifying.
It marks the return of the 27-year-old onto the main stage of snooker from the sport after being caught up in a match-fixing scandal.
Zhao was not directly involved in fixing a match, but the Chinese potter was among 10 players to be banned last year after admitting he had knowledge of the activity that took place.
He confessed to being aware of another player fixing matches in March 2022 and placed bets on snooker between September 2019 and December 2022.
Zhao received a 30-month suspension, which was reduced to 20 months owing to an early admission of guilt. And he is now determined to come back stronger after learning from the error of his ways.
“Two years ago I made a little mistake, now I’ve come back,” he told the . “I know how important snooker is to me and now I just want to come back to the snooker table.”
While some snooker stars have taken exception to Zhao returning, Murphy made it clear he deserves a place back on the snooker circuit after serving his punishment.
Shaun Murphy faces Zhao Xintong at the UK Championship (Image: Getty)
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“I think it has to be said Zhao Xintong was at the very lower end of those (10) bans,” Murphy said. “He was never accused of cheating, he was never accused of fixing any matches.
“He did know about it without reporting it and of course that’s against the rules. He’s served his time.
“There’s been quite a lot of fanfare about his return, which I’ve not been 100 per cent sure about. But he was caught, he took his punishment on the chin and since then has done everything right.
“There’s an element of rehabilitation, he’s done the crime and served his time and he’s back.”
Zhao Xintong will go into the UK Championship in fine form (Image: Getty)
Having impressed by winning successive Q Tour events in Stockholm and Manchester last month, Zhao has clinched a spot in the qualifiers for the UK Championship – an event he won in 2021.
He also clinched 147 breaks in both events, highlighting his dangerous form, and Murphy is wary of the threat he poses.
“The problem with Zhao Xintong is he’s really bloody good,” he added. “It might be fair to say he’s done nothing in these 18 months but practice. He looks very, very sharp to me.”
Murphy faces Zhao in the first round tie on Saturday, November 23 in York.