China's Zhao Xintong became the first Asian player to win the World Snooker Championship after beating veteran Mark Williams 18-12 on Monday.

中国选手赵心童周一以18-12力克名将马克·威廉姆斯，成为首位问鼎斯诺克世界锦标赛的亚洲选手。

"I can't believe it. It's like a dream," said Zhao, who served out a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations last September and earned his place at the snooker worlds by winning four qualifiers as an amateur.

“我简直不敢相信，这就像一场梦，”这位去年九月刚结束20个月涉赌禁赛期的球员说道。他以业余选手身份连赢四场资格赛，才获得本届世锦赛正赛入场券。

The 28-year-old dominated Sunday's first two sessions at 11-6 and improved his advantage to 17-8 after the third session on Monday.

28岁的赵心童在周日前两个阶段比赛中以11-6确立优势，周一第三阶段结束后将领先优势扩大至17-8。

With Zhao only one frame away from making history, the 50-year-old Williams launched a strong fightback by taking four frames in a row at the start of the final session.

当赵心童距离创造历史仅差一局胜利时，50岁的威廉姆斯在最后阶段发起绝地反击，连追四局。

But the three-time world champion couldn't hold off Zhao further, as the Chinese wrapped the contest up by winning the 30th frame with a break of  87.

但这位三届世锦赛冠军终究未能阻挡赵心童的脚步——中国小将在第30局以一杆87分锁定胜局，结束了比赛。

Starting his first qualifying match on April 7, Zhao maintained his sensational form to win 111 frames across nine matches to become the world champion.

自4月7日踏上首场资格赛以来，赵心童全程保持惊人状态，九场比赛共赢得111局，最终成为世界冠军。

"What an opponent he is," said Williams. "I've got nothing but admiration for what he has done. "

“他真是个不可思议的对手，”威廉姆斯赛后表示，“他的表现令人叹服。”

Zhao will start the next season as the world No. 11, while there are nine more Chinese players in the world's top 32.

新赛季开启时，赵心童的世界排名将跃升至第11位。目前世界前32强中另有9位中国选手。

Ding Junhui was the first Asian to reach the final at the World Championship in 2016 before losing to Mark Selby.

此前丁俊晖曾在2016年成为首位闯入斯诺克世锦赛决赛的亚洲选手，但最终不敌马克·塞尔比。

World Snooker Championship

斯诺克世界锦标赛

veteran

/'vet(ə)rən/

n.老手；经验丰富的人

fightback

/'faɪt.bæk/

n.回击；反击

hold off

阻挡；抗拒

the world champion

世界冠军