Zhao Xintong told to be 'more like Judd Trump' despite winning World Championship

needs to "change his game" despite winning his first-ever against , former Crucible king Ken Doherty has claimed. Xintong captured the imagination of the sporting world when he became the first-ever Asian player to be crowned world champion earlier this month.

The Chinese potter had entered the competition as a qualifier, but immediately made a statement when he defeated last year's runner-up, Jak Jones, in the opening round. The 28-year-old continued to motor through the rounds, eventually reaching the semi-final, where he met seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Despite a back-and-forth first session, Zhao dominated the latter stages of the clash, eventually setting up a date with destiny against Williams in the final. When the eyes of the world were on him, Zhao stood tall and triumphed by virtue of an 18-12 victory.

However, according to player and pundit Doherty, if Zhao is to establish himself as a leading force in the snooker world, he'll need to make some adjustments to his game. Speaking to Gambling.com, he explained: "I think he [Zhao Xintong] is the real deal. I think he could do anything he wants, as Stephen Hendry said, he can dominate the game.

"He [Xintong] is a little bit naive at times. He was sort of pushing the boat out and playing a lot of strange shots. He was desperate to get over the line, but he wanted to keep to his own philosophy of trying to go for the pots, no matter how difficult they were. It worked well for him, but in the shorter matches, he might struggle to find consistency."

Making a comparison to Judd Trump, he added: "I think he needs to learn a little bit more ring-craft, like the way Judd Trump has changed his game a little bit, but still kept the most important things - like his long potting and his scoring power. Just adding new little dimensions or facets to his game. Once he adds those facets to his game, I think he will win a lot of tournaments and possibly another couple of world titles as well."

Having earned back his tour card following a 20-month ban after accepting charges of being party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself, .

He'll now benefit from seeded entries into competitions, as well as an invitation to the Masters, should he remain in the top 16 after the UK Championship.