For the third year in a row a Chinese player will win the Wuhan Open but will newly-confirmed world number one Zhao Xintong be celebrating or can Chang Bingyu cause another surprise to claim his first ranking-event title?
It has already been a memorable few days for both players, with Zhao confirming that he will start next week at the top of the rankings following his quarter-final demolition of Neil Robertson and, in doing so, will become only the second Chinese player after Ding Junhui over a decade ago to earn world number one status.
The 2025 Crucible king then followed up his victory over Robertson by beating two-time defending champion Xiao Guodong 6-2 in Friday's second semi-final to reach his first ranking-event final of the season.
Earlier in the day Chang claimed arguably the biggest win of his career to date, beating a below-par Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-3, a result that came just a day on from his 5-1 thrashing of Judd Trump - the man Zhao will be replacing at the top of the world rankings.
Chang is through to just his second ranking-event final and having been convincingly beaten by Chris Wakelin in the final of last year's Scottish Open, he will be determined to put on a strong performance in front of what will be a home crowd for both players in Wuhan.
Zhao Xintong v Chang Bingyu Tips Summary
Best Bet - Zhao Xintong -2.5 frames @ 4/5
Alternative Bet - Zhao Xintong 3 centuries @ 10/3
Zhao Xintong v Chang Bingyu Prediction
Best Bet: Zhao Xintong -2.5 frames @ 4/5
After being crowned world champion in May 2025, there was perhaps understandably a drop off from Zhao at the start of last season, as he only reached one ranking-event semi-final over the first half of the campaign.
However, February's win at the World Grand Prix appeared to reignite a spark in the Cyclone, who went on to add the Players and Tour Championship titles to his list of accolades before the campaign reached a conclusion.
A quarter-final loss to Shaun Murphy in his World Championship title defence would have been a disappointment, but Zhao's performance levels have remained high at the start of this season and have arguably gone to new levels in Wuhan.
Jak Jones, Barry Hawkins, Robertson and Xiao Guodong have all been dispatched by an aggregate score of 21-7 and none of those players has managed to take more than two frames off the 29-year-old.
Chang has also gone above and beyond this week, beating Ali Carter before going on to see off both Trump and O'Sullivan, but this is not the first time he has taken notable scalps on his way to a ranking-event final.
At last year's Scottish Open, the 24-year-old beat Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Mark Allen in successive matches, but he froze on the big stage as, after taking a 2-1 lead against Wakelin in the final, he lost eight frames on the spin to go down 9-2.
He may have learned from that experience, but Chang, whose only previous competitive match against Zhao ended in a 3-0 defeat at the 2022 Championship League, may struggle to contain his rampant opponent, who is fancied to cover the handicap on the way to his seventh ranking-event title.
Alternative Bet: Zhao Xintong 3 centuries @ 10/3
Given his dominant performances at this year's Wuhan Open, it is no surprise that Zhao is leading the way when it comes to century breaks, with his knock of 124 in the final frame of his semi-final victory over Xiao Guodong being his sixth of the tournament.
Zhao now has 17 century breaks for the season and only one player has recorded more - Chang with 19 - so backing over 3.5 centuries in this best-of-19 frame final at 8/13 offers plenty of appeal.
However, there is perhaps more value in siding with Zhao to register exactly three centuries on his own.
The Cyclone has recorded at least one century break in 11 of his 12 matches this season, producing three in his victory over Ding in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters and repeating the trick again in his semi-final defeat to Kyren Wilson in the same competition.
That loss to Wilson is the only time Zhao has played a best-of-19 frame match this season and with Saturday's final operating over the same format, he can replicate his trio of century knocks, only this time he will be hoping they can help him to victory.
Zhao Xintong v Chang Bingyu H2H Record & Stats
Zhao Xintong | 1 |
Chang Bingyu | 0 |
Key Match Stats
Zhao Xintong will become the second Chinese player to be world number one regardless of the result of Saturday's final
The Cyclone has won his four matches en route to the Wuhan Open final by an aggregate score of 21-7
Chang Bingyu is through to his second ranking-event final after reaching last season's Scottish Open showpiece
The 24-year-old has beaten Ali Carter, Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan en route to the final
Zhao is bidding to win his seventh ranking-event title
The only previous meeting between the pair ended in a 3-0 success for Zhao in the 2022 Championship League
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
