Superstitious Chinese snooker star Zhao Xintong betting on white to keep hot streak going
Zhao says he is keeping the routine that led to his World Grand Prix win in Hong Kong, right down to what he wears for his next match
Chinese snooker star Zhao Xintong is leaving nothing to chance ahead of this week’s Players Championship, right down to the shirt he plans to wear in his opening clash with Elliot Slessor.
Like many athletes, the reigning world champion is superstitious and sported a white shirt throughout his run to the World Grand Prix title in Hong Kong earlier this month.
The 28-year-old typically rotates between white and black garments during tournaments, but beat John Higgins in the first round wearing the former and plans to carry on doing so, at least until he loses again.
Zhao was born in April 1997, a Year of the Ox, and among the predictions for him in the Year of the Horse are that his lucky colour will be purple.
Acknowledging that he was “probably a superstitious person”, Zhao also said he liked to break first whenever the opportunity arose.
“I had brought both black and white shirts to Hong Kong, and I was meant to change it to black in the next round, but then I thought ‘Nope, maybe not’, so I kept wearing white until the end,” Zhao said.