Zhang Anda comes from behind to stun Zhao Xintong 6-5 at China Open: Reigning world champion exits in first round

Zhang Anda produced the biggest shock of the 2026 China Open in Shanxi by beating reigning world champion and world number three Zhao Xintong 6-5 in a first-round match decided on a respotted black. Zhang, ranked 19th, trailed 0-3 before winning five of the next six frames to lead 5-4. Zhao took the tenth frame to force a decider. Zhang moved 57-0 ahead in the final frame but could not finish, and Zhao fought back to level. The frame ended with only the black left and the scores tied, so the black was respotted. Zhang held his nerve to pot it and seal the win. “I was too nervous, especially at the end,” Zhang said. He admitted to being anxious after falling 3-0 behind and praised Zhao’s fighting spirit. Zhao said he made far too many mistakes and probably did not deserve to win. He added that he needed to review the match to understand what went wrong. In another notable result, John Higgins, world number five, lost 4-6 to Stuart Bingham. Zhang next faces Chris Wakelin of England.