Zhao Xintong's historic World Snooker Championship title is set to spur the game to even greater heights in China and sparked predictions the country could come to dominate the sport.He says Chinese players will dominate snooker within three to five years.

The crowning of Zhao Xintong as Asia’s first world snooker champion will have come as a surprise to many unfamiliar with the sport, who will have also been unaware of its vast popularity in China.

Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.