Crucible sensation has been predicted to land multi-million pound deals by a sports finance guru following his historic win. That's as long as he maintains his stunning form in the years to come.

The Chinese cueist turned up in Sheffield as an amateur after serving due to his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. But he showed that his lack of professional status was just nominal.

At just 28, Zhao , comfortably defeating players like and then demolishing snooker legend in the semi-finals.

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Another Class of '92 member, , awaited in the final, and Zhao did not falter. Leading 17-8 going into the final evening session, he secured his victory at 18-12, .

As the first Asian champion, are now expected to skyrocket. Speaking via , Professor Rob Wilson, a prominent sports finance expert, commented on the potential boost to Zhao's bank balance following his triumph.

"Winning the World Snooker Championship in itself will open the door to a completely different financial universe for Zhao Xintong," said Wilson. "The title itself comes with half a million pounds worth of prize money.

"That's immediate. The bigger opportunity, of course, for him will be endorsement, sponsorships, and the exhibition circuit, especially given his marketability in China.

"We know that the Chinese population are avid followers of snooker, and of course, it is a major competition that's followed over in the Far East. We've seen players like Ding Junhui being able to tap into that domestic audience of essentially hundreds of millions.

"So if Zhao can leverage that sort of audience, you're looking at multi-million pound commercial deals across clothing, apparel, and equipment. They also do branded academies.

"There's one in Sheffield for Ding. Then, of course, there are media appearances, but with anything that I talk about in the context of sporting success, you know it's a big but.

"Whether he becomes the richest player of all time will depend on that sustained success that he will need over the next decade or so."

Wilson then commented on some of the potting legends that Zhao may surpass in career prize money, specifically mentioning the Chinese player's semi-final opponent, The Rocket, reports .

"One title simply isn't enough. He'll need to build that legacy over the next five to 10 years at least to give him a platform with consistent top-tier performances," Wilson added.

"If he's able to do that, you could probably realistically expect him to surpass even players like Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan is on £15-20million career earnings when you factor in both prize money and off the table income. So it's a huge opportunity for Zhao, the first step in what could be a seriously lucrative financial journey."