Wu Yize and Zhao Xintong’s victories at the World Championship will help to boost the growth of snooker in China, while removing the stench of corruption and match-fixing, sport insiders believe.

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, previously suggested the interest that greeted Wu’s triumph over Shaun Murphy could help the sport’s Olympics ambitions.

And Django Fung, who manages top players, including world No 2 Neil Robertson and Murphy, said the wins also showed that China was about to enter an era of dominance in the sport.

Zhao was one of 10 Chinese players suspended following an investigation into corruption in the sport. He served a 20-month ban before returning to win the World Championship in 2025.

“Yes, it will remove the bad memories and it will be forgotten eventually,” Hongkonger Fung said. “Time can heal everything. There were life bans, and lengthy bans for some of the players involved.

“There were also shorter bans, and for some of the players who returned, they did exceptionally well, so it’ll be fine.”