Mark Williams says the imperious potting of new world champion Zhao Xintong is reminiscent of a young Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The 28-year-old was crowned China's first world snooker champion after withstanding a stirring comeback from Williams to complete an 18-12 win at the Crucible.
Zhao, who lost his tour card in January 2023 for his part in a match-fixing scandal, followed in the footsteps of Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy to become just the third qualifier to be crowned world champion.
Vanquished opponent Williams conjured comparisons with a young O’Sullivan.
"He (Zhao) is as good to watch as O’Sullivan was when he was younger. He just strolls around the table and pots balls from anywhere as if he doesn’t have a care in the world," he said.
"Xintong is going to be a national hero now. He’ll be on the front page of every news outlet going and I’m sure there are Chinese companies ready to throw zillions at him.
"It’s great for our sport to have someone at the top who is so attacking and so young."
Williams, who is now considering postponing scheduled lens replacement surgery after his surprise run to a fifth Crucible final, added: "I played well all tournament but unfortunately I was never in the final from the first few frames.
"Some of the balls Zhao potted were unbelievable. I used to feel like that at 27 or 28. To do what he's done, having been out for 20 months then come back and won every game, come here and bashed everyone up in a major tournament, is unbelievable."
