In the early morning of April 9, Beijing time, the 2023-24 World Snooker Championship Qualifying Tournament kicked off. 19-year-old Xing Zihao became the first Chinese player to make the cut, and he shot six 50+ shots against former single-game limited-time champion Michael Holt to win 10-6 on aggregate to advance to the second round. In this competition, Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda directly advanced to the main competition.
After a season of competition, the 2023-24 Snooker Tour has entered its final stage. As a 19-year-old, this season is Xing Zihao's debut season. In the snooker professional qualification trial in April last year, Xing Zihao reversed Lei Peifan 4-3 and won the qualification for the 2023-24 season and the 2024-25 season of world snooker professional.
In his debut season, Xing's best result was reaching the fourth round of the Northern Ireland Open. Among them, the second round was a 4-1 victory over 2006 world champion Graeme Dort.
Specific to the World Championships qualifiers, Xing Zihao, ranked 90th in the world, played in the first round, and his opponent was former single-game limited-time champion Michael Holt, who participated with a wild card.
In the past, Xing Zihao and Holt had no head-to-head record, and this game was an encounter. In this campaign, Xing Zihao's start was perfect, taking a 3-0 lead in the first three games, but Holt stubbornly chased the score with experience and played 4-5 in the first stage.
Regarding the performance of Xing Zihao and Holt in the first stage, the official Weibo of the World Snooker Tour wrote: "In the 2024 Snooker World Championship Qualifying Tournament 144 into 112 rounds, Xing Zihao played four shots of 50+ (61, 58, 86, 63), and Michael Holt played two shots of 50+ (59, 61)".
The official Weibo of the World Snooker Tour continued: "After the first stage of the battle, Xing Zihao temporarily led Holt with a score of 5-4, and the second phase of the game between the two sides will start at 2 o'clock in the morning." In the second stage, Xing Zihao continued to exert his strength, he blasted out a wave of 5-2 offensive climax, with a total score of 10-6 and advanced strongly, congratulations to Xing Zihao!