Ken Doherty Tells The Panel Zhao Xintong Can Cause World Championship Shock

The World Snooker Championship continues in earnest, and a number of surprises and impressive performances have had fans glued to their screens.

Former world champion Ken Doherty has also been enthralled by the action and has been particularly pleased with the standard of snooker at The Crucible thus far.

He sat down with Gambling.com to give The Panel his thoughts on the action unfolding in the 2025 World Snooker Championship.

Chinese Players Could Triumph

There have been some players who have stood out above the rest so far at the Crucible.

Before the start, this year's World Championship was thought to be wide open, and it is certainly proving to be.

When asked about which players have impressed him the most, Doherty told The Panel:

"You can never discount Ronnie [O’Sullivan], but Xintong looked very impressive in his match. 

"So instead of playing Kyren Wilson next, he will play the defending champion’s conqueror, Lei Peifan, who played very well himself. 

"Xintong has won four matches to get here. He was very impressive in dismantling a top-16 player in Jak Jones in his last match. 

"He's played superbly well. He's just so casual and hits the ball beautifully. He’s confident, scoring well, and knocking long balls in. 

"I think he's going to be a real danger. It would be huge for a Chinese player to win the tournament. 

"We thought Ding Junhui was going to be the first Chinese world champion, but suddenly, there are so many others now all in contention. 

"I think the only ones that can win it, at the moment, are Junhui, Xintong and Si Jiahui. 

"Xintong might be number one, and Junhui might be two, in that regard. So they're the three possible contenders from China. They're classic players and I wouldn't put it past any one of them. 

"For me, the one who's playing the best of them all is Xintong."

Williams Has The Experience To Beat Vafaei

Three-time world champion Mark Williams continues to defy his years, and he will take on Iranian star Hossein Vafaei in the next round.

He came out on top in dramatic fashion against Barry Hawkins in the opening round, but Doherty thinks Williams' experience will see him through.

"I thought Vafaei played really well in his first match against Barry Hawkins," he said.

"He could be a little bit of a danger against Williams, who has got the experience, the guile and the craft to do a number on him. 

"But yeah, it's another match to really look forward to. I don't think it's a certainty that Williams can beat Vafaei. 

"I think he might win, but Vafaei can push him hard all the way. 

"If you were to nail me into a margin of victory for Williams, I would say three frames."

Trump Vs Murphy Will Be Tight

Round two has thrown up some tantalising tussles, none more so than Judd Trump taking on Shaun Murphy.

Trump is a strong favourite with betting sites, but Ken sees it as a much tighter contest.

"The form book would tell us Trump will come through that tough World Championship bottom quarter. 

"He'll have to play Murphy in the last 16, and that will be a wonderful match over three sessions, best of 25. 

"I think whoever wins that last-16 will come out of that quarter match, but it's a toss-up. 

"I think Trump will edge it, but Murphy is playing very strongly, and I think it'll be a very, very close last 16 match."