Zhao Xintong kicks off World Championship defence by edging past Liam Highfield

Zhao Xintong made a scrappy start to his Halo World Snooker Championship defence before putting away qualifier Liam Highfield 10-7 at the Crucible. Zhao triumphed in Sheffield a year ago but was at risk of following in the footsteps of Luca Brecel and Kyren Wilson, who fell at the first hurdle when