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 defending their crown in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

At the end of the opening session he had a wafer thin 5-4 lead over Highfield, who has never won a match in the main draw but soon found himself level-pegging with the world number four.

Zhao’s rough edges continued but he turned the tide by claiming a pivotal 11th frame and wrapped up the best-of-19 clash after a courageous long plant on his first red, opening up the table for a match-winning century.

“Tonight was pressure, it was very difficult for me,” he told BBC Sport.

“Two days ago I thought I could control that, not now. I just tried to control myself and enjoy the table, but tonight I didn’t do it well. Hopefully next round I can do it.”

A blockbuster second-round match against Chinese compatriot Ding Junhui awaits on Friday, should the latter beat David Gilbert first, and Zhao added: “If I play Ding, everyone keeps eyes on us. If I play with Ding, I’ll feel good.”

Zhao had kicked things off by taking the first two frames of the day, which began with a minute’s applause for John Virgo, the much-loved former player and commentator who died in February.

Breaks of 124 and 128 suggested he was finding some rhythm, but he made a series of uncharacteristic mistakes to let the Englishman back in and would have welcomed the break in play to compose himself.

When the contest resumed he drew gasps from the crowd when he went in off the pink, Highfield drawing level to bring the upset closer. With the pressure on, Zhao picked the perfect moment to pick up three successive frames, reeling off some outrageous long pots to put move 8-5 ahead.

A horrible miss on a simple black could have cost him the 14th, but a series of errors from both men eventually saw him pick off green and blue to nick a messy frame and go within touching distance. Highfield did not give up, taking the next two, but Zhao’s willingness to take on a low percentage red settled matters.

Barry Hawkins, the 2013 runner-up, took a dominant 7-2 advantage over Matthew Stevens. He was 2-1 down after a slow start but shut out the Welshman for the remainder of the evening, with a top break of 99.

Mark Williams took a 6-3 lead over Polish qualifier Antoni Kowalski but there was little to pick between Xiao Guodong and Zhou Yuelong, with the former edging it 5-4 in the afternoon’s play.

In the morning session, 14th seed Mark Allen went 5-3 down to Zhang Anda with the Northern Irishman losing three in a row before halting the momentum just before the interval.

Manchester United moved closer to Champions League qualification after Matheus Cunha’s first-half goal helped them beat struggling Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s poor run continued as they suffered their fourth straight Premier League defeat, a streak they have only matched once this century. They have not scored in any of those games and last found the net on 4 March.

Despite the loss, Chelsea will feel unlucky. They hit the woodwork three times through Estevao Willian, Liam Delap, and Wesley Fofana. Willian also had to go off early with another hamstring injury after just 16 minutes.

Chelsea dominated much of the game, having more possession, more shots, and more shots on target. Their expected goals (xG) was also higher, but they failed to convert their chances.

United, however, took their moment. Bruno Fernandes set up the goal with a smart cut-back, and Cunha finished first time to score the winner. It was Fernandes’ 18th league assist of the season, just two short of the Premier League record.

The win was only Manchester United’s second league victory at Stamford Bridge since 2002, and their fans celebrated loudly.

There were mixed reactions in the stadium. United supporters booed Alejandro Garnacho on his return to face his former club, while Chelsea fans voiced their frustration, chanting “we want our Chelsea back.” Mason Mount’s late introduction also drew jeers from the home crowd.

James Toney has predicted a devastating outcome for one half of Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis, questioning what the result would mean for his future in the sport.

The pair will collide for Zayas’ WBO and WBA world super-welterweight titles on June 27, headlining a card at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn.

Despite him being a unified champion, many are wondering whether this is a step too far for the Puerto Rican, who comes off a split decision victory over Abass Baraou.

Regardless of the scorecards, Zayas was able to dominate large spells of their encounter in January, before adding the WBA strap to his collection.

Against Ennis, though, the 23-year-old is set to face his toughest opponent by some distance, hoping to pull off what would be a sizable upset.

Having previously unified the welterweight division, orchestrating an emphatic sixth-round finish over Eimantas Stanionis, Ennis is certainly no stranger to a challenge of this nature.

While considering this, and indeed the overall skillset of ‘Boots’, Hall of Famer Toney finds it difficult to envision Zayas retaining his titles.

In fact, the former three-weight world champion has told MillCity Boxing that Ennis could even harm the promising career of his opponent.

“‘Boots’ [is] a bad motherf**ker. This kid [Zayas] is about to get ruined. He ain’t ready. He’s a good fighter, but he’s not there yet.”

This represents Ennis’ second outing at 154lbs, following his first-round demolition job against Uisma Lima in October.

Zayas, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged operator at the weight, having crafted a 23-0 (13 KOs) record with his sharp footwork and prolific jab.

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 10 runs on Saturday, April 18, in match 27 of the ongoing IPL 2026. SRH posted 194/9 in 20 overs after being put to bat first at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Opener Abhishek Sharma led the charge with a blazing 59 off 22 at a strike rate of 268.18. Heinrich Klaasen also slammed a half-century, contributing 59 off 39. However, the hosts lost momentum in the death overs, scoring just 17 runs while losing four wickets in the last three overs. Anshul Kamboj and Jamie Overton took three scalps each.

CSK’s batting let them down in the run chase. Matthew Short was the top run-scorer with 34 off 30 at an underwhelming strike rate of 113.33. Chennai needed 18 runs from the final over with three wickets in hand. Praful Hinge bowled the crucial over and gave just seven runs while taking one wicket.

Eshan Malinga was the pick of the SRH bowlers. The Sri Lankan pacer was named the Player of the Match, recording excellent figures of 4-0-29-3. Hyderabad moved to the top four following the win.

The Ishan Kishan-led side are currently fourth in the table with three wins and as many losses in six matches. CSK, on the other hand, occupy the seventh spot after two wins from six fixtures.

Here, we look at three moments from the clash that generated a buzz among the fans.

#3 Abhishek Sharma launches onslaught against Matthew Short

Abhishek Sharma took Matthew Short to the cleaners in the powerplay to get SRH off to a flying start. Travis Head took a single on the first ball of the fifth over, getting Abhishek on strike against the part-time off-spinner.

The southpaw slammed a hat-trick of fours to put the Australian all-rounder under pressure. Short failed to bounce back as Abhishek’s onslaught continued. The hard-hitting batter hit back-to-back sixes in the remaining two deliveries.

Abhishek completed a 15-ball half-century with his six on the final ball of the over. He slammed the fastest fifty by an SRH player in IPL history, bettering his 16-ball half-century against Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2024.

#2 Mukesh Choudhary’s twin strikes to end SRH’s powerplay

Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary was added to CSK’s playing XI with Khaleel Ahmed ruled out due to injury. He made an early impact in the game, taking two important wickets in the powerplay.

He dismissed Travis Head with a full-toss while bowling from around the wicket. The opening batter hit it down the ground but miscued it. Ruturaj Gaikwad completed a brilliant diving catch to end the hard-hitting batter’s knock.

Choudhary struck again on the very next delivery, sending back Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. The SRH skipper was caught by Gaikwad at mid-off while looking to clear the in-field.

#1 Heinrich Klaasen takes a blinder to dismiss Ayush Mhatre

Ayush Mhatre gave CSK some hope with a quick-fire cameo. The youngster scored 30 off 13 before perishing to Nitish Reddy in the fifth over. He attempted to clear mid-off on the fourth ball.

However, he ended up mistiming it and didn’t get enough distance. Heinrich Klaasen ran towards his left and jumped in the air to pluck out a stunning catch. Watch the video: