Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.

Once considered a saloon or rec-room past-time by many, snooker has long been serious business in the U.K. and much of the rest of the world. Now, it seems, it's China's turn in the spotlight. Zhao Xintong’s crowning as Asia’s first world snooker champion has put the focus on the growth of the sport in China in a relatively short time.

Fresh off becoming the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship, Zhao Xintong is eyeing more titles, hoping his continued success will inspire a new wave of talent in China.