RIYADH - China's Zhao Xintong lifted the title at the Riyadh Season Snooker 167 Championship in the early hours of Saturday, defeating Australian star Neil Robertson 5-2 in the final at the Global Theater in Boulevard City, the Saudi capital Riyadh.

It was Zhao's first trophy since being crowned world champion in May.

The final, played over the best of nine frames, got underway at 10 p.m. local time, with 250,000 pounds on offer for the winner. Both players settled quickly, sharing the opening two frames at 1-1.

The third frame proved the turning point of the match. Zhao and Robertson became embroiled in a prolonged safety battle, producing several high-quality snookers. Under pressure in the exchanges, Robertson repeatedly failed to hit the intended red, incurring a total of 20 penalty points.

Zhao, by contrast, remained composed and patient, focusing on tight safety rather than forcing the issue. When Robertson's errors finally left a clear opportunity, Zhao stepped in to clear and take the frame, moving 2-1 ahead and seizing the momentum.

From there, the young Chinese player began to fully impose himself. Breaking off in the fourth frame, Zhao quickly took control of the table with precise cue-ball control and fluent positional play. A series of assured pots saw him compile a superb 131 break to extend his lead to 3-1.

After a short interval, Robertson began the fifth frame, but Zhao immediately resumed his heavy scoring. Having briefly stretched his shoulder before the restart, he produced another near-faultless scoring visit, compiling a 134 clearance to whitewash the frame and push the score to 4-1, moving to within one frame of the title.

Facing a steep deficit, Robertson responded in the sixth frame by raising the tempo. After Zhao's break-off, the Australian chose to open the pack early and launch an aggressive counterattack. With his cue action loosening up and touch returning, Robertson constructed a fluent 91 to pull one back at 4-2, keeping his hopes alive.

However, any prospect of a fightback was quickly checked in the seventh frame. Robertson again broke off, but in the ensuing safety exchanges he twice failed to make contact with the red, conceding eight points in fouls. Zhao maintained a defense-first approach, keeping the balls tight and waiting for further mistakes. When Robertson once more left an opening after another error, Zhao clinically stepped in to finish the match, sealing a 5-2 victory and the championship.

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Earlier on Friday evening, Zhao had come through a high-quality semifinal against England's Judd Trump, edging the contest 4-3 in a deciding frame to avenge a previous defeat to the same opponent.

"In the first two frames of the semifinal, I didn't feel I had made any big mistakes, but I still found myself 2-0 down," Zhao told Xinhua after his triumph. "I kept telling myself that as long as I got a chance and could get to the table, I was capable of pulling the score back. I never gave up, I adjusted my mindset well, and in the end I managed to turn it around. I'm very happy about that."

Between the semifinal and final, Zhao had barely an hour to recover. He said he chose not to dwell on the prospect of the title.

"To be honest, I didn't think too much during that one-hour break," he said with a smile. "I was even wondering whether I'd be able to catch my flight tonight."

The Riyadh Season Snooker 167 Championship brought together many of the world's leading players and again featured the innovative "Golden Ball" rule. Under the format, if a player completes all 15 reds with blacks and clears the colors before potting an extra golden ball worth 20 points, they achieve a maximum 167 break and earn a special bonus of 1 million U.S. dollars.

Zhao admitted that while he had been excited about the 167 concept before arriving in Saudi Arabia, reality at the table proved very different.

"Before the event I was really looking forward to trying for 167," he said. "But once I started playing, I realized there weren't many real chances to go for it. If you focus too much on 167, the pressure becomes enormous.

"Even for the very top players, the difficulty level is still extremely high," he added. "With such a big prize fund on the line, it definitely adds extra pressure. I've seen players go after 167 where everything goes smoothly early in the break, only for them to miss on the final black and end up losing the frame. This format gives us a very different kind of psychological test."

Reflecting on his season, Zhao said that the title in Riyadh came at an important moment.

"After winning the World Championship this year, my form for much of the season was fairly average, and I didn't produce many standout results," he noted. "But in the past month I've reached three semifinals, and now I've added this title. It's a big boost to my confidence.

"I hope my results will get better and better next year," he continued. "I also hope I can keep improving overall as a player."

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Zhao also paid tribute to the support he received inside the arena, including from Chinese diplomats, overseas Chinese and local fans in Saudi Arabia.

"I'm really grateful to everyone who came to support me today," he said. "It wasn't just Chinese fans -- I saw a lot of Saudi fans as well, always giving me applause and encouragement. This trophy belongs to them as well, in a way."