A Crucible streak that has now stood for 49 years can finally be ended at the 2026 World Championship.
The 2026 tournament gets underway on April 18 in Sheffield - fresh off the news that the Crucible has secured a new long-term agreement to host the World Championship until at least 2045.
Since then, Ronnie O'Sullivan has made his return to action at last month's World Open, hitting a record 153 break against Ryan Day before reaching the final.
Reigning world champion Zhao Xintong then secured his third ranking event title of the season, thrashing Judd Trump 10-3 to win the 2026 Tour Championship in Manchester on Sunday.
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China's first world champion is widely tipped to win his second consecutive Crucible crown next month and, in doing so, break a 'curse' that has enveloped over the famous Sheffield theatre since it first staged the World Championship in 1977.
No first-time champion has ever gone to retain their title at the Crucible, with Kyren Wilson becoming the latest player to fall victim to the curse in 2025.
Wilson became the second consecutive new champion to fall in the first round, with Luca Brecel having been defeated by David Gilbert in 2024.
O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis have all tried and failed to break the 'curse', with Davis thrashed 10-1 in the first round by qualifier Tony Knowles in what was one of the sport's all-time great shocks in 1982.
Hendry made the quarter-finals in 1991, before defeating defending champion O'Sullivan to knock him out of the semi-finals in 2002.
Joe Johnson, who now commentates for TNT Sports, came the closest to breaking the 'curse', as he was 14-13 down to Davis in the 1987 final before going on to lose 18-14.
And Ken Doherty, who won in 1997, lost 18-12 to John Higgins in the 1998 final.
Since Ding Junhui's breakout season of 2005/06, when he won the UK Championship, it has long been expected that China would become the next big superpower of snooker.
And while Ding was expected to be the one to win the nation's first World Championship, it was instead Zhao who did so last year by beating Mark Williams 18-12.
At 28 years of age, he carried the hopes and expectations of 1.4 billion people on his shoulders in Sheffield last year - and if he could hold his nerve and win the World Championship once, you can be absolutely sure that he is capable of doing it again.
And if there were any nerves this time around, Zhao didn't show any by comprehensively disposing of Trump, a 31-time ranking event winner, in Manchester on Sunday.
What threatens to stand in his way is that 12 of the 16 other World Championship seeds have all won tournaments this year.
Should both players get through their opening matches, he would face a master versus apprentice-style matchup against Ding in the last 16, before potentially facing Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals and then either Higgins or O'Sullivan in a cracking semi-final.
On the other half of the draw is Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson - all previous winners, and all very much capable of winning again.
But if Zhao does get to the final, he will be armed with having won all six of his previous ranking finals.
"This is a big moment for me," he said on Sunday night after beating Trump.
"Judd Trump is my favourite player. I am really happy and lucky that tonight I am the one that has won.
"It may look easy but actually I was very nervous. I am happy to have won all six of the finals I've been in.
"Manchester is a very good city and the crowd is amazing. I love it here. I tried to enjoy the snooker table - I know it is hard."
Topics: World Snooker Championship, Snooker
Ryan Smart