Zhao thrashes Trump to win Tour Championship

Zhao thrashes Trump to win Tour ChampionshipImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Zhao Xintong is the first player to win all three events in the Players Series in the same seasonBySteve SutcliffeBBC Sport journalist at Manchester CentralPublished7 minutes agoChina's Zhao Xintong thrashed world number one Judd Trump 10-3 to claim his first Tour Championship title in Manchester. Leading 5-3 heading into Sunday's concluding session, the world champion put the match beyond the Englishman, by reeling off the first four frames of the evening to give himself a 9-3 advantage. The result meant the 29-year-old banked the £150,000 top prize and became only the third player to win in excess of £1m in a single season, after Ronnie O'Sullivan and Trump. Zhao's success also meant he was the first ever player to win all three events in the Players Series in the same season, having triumphed in both the World Grand Prix and Players Championship in February.With just 13 days until the start of the World Championship, the manner in which Zhao won this tournament sent out an ominous warning to those with aspirations of dethroning him at the Crucible. Having demolished John Higgins 10-1 on Saturday - inflicting the heaviest defeat in the Scot's stellar 34-year career - Trump fared little better 24 hours later. And that was despite the 36-year-old fighting back from 2-0 down to 2-2 and then taking what appeared to be a pivotal eighth frame to raise the prospect of a thrilling finale, after Zhao had compiled breaks of 91 and 98 in consecutive frames. Instead Zhao's dominance ensured that never materialised against a player he is homing in on at the top of the world rankings - moving up to fourth, with his fourth title of a trophy-laden campaign.Trump admitted: "He's a great player and he's going to be around for a long time so it is up to me and a few of the other players to start playing well against him otherwise he's going to end hi...