Ding Junhui reckons the Crucible curse is no match for Zhao Xintong after losing to his compatriot in the second round of the World Snooker Championship.
The huge clash between the Chinese icon and the reigning world champion was won 13-9 by the Cyclone, who sets up a quarter-final with Shaun Murphy.
The 29-year-old is looking to become the first ever first-time world champion to defend the title the following year, something that has never been done at the Crucible.
Ding reckons the curse, that has held firm since the Crucible first hosted the World Championship in 1977, is set to be lifted this year.
‘The curse for him, I don’t think it’s working,’ Ding said after defeat.
Pushed on whether he thinks he will lift the trophy again, Ding said: ‘Yeah I love to watch him playing and see him winning.’
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Zhao himself said he is ‘very far’ from his best at the minute, but Ding feels a tournament-winning performance does not have to be a spectacular one.
Asked if Zhao’s level so far is enough to triumph again in Sheffield, Ding said: ‘Yes, win the tournament doesn’t mean you play very well.
‘You’ve got tactics, whatever happens in the match, in between frames, we don’t know, nobody knows but he’s doing well in the whole match the past two days.
‘I think he’ll learn from the match and improve every time. I think he’s better than anyone.’
While the curse is yet to strike on the current world champion, he does admit that he feels under much more pressure this year than he did 12 months ago.
Returning from a ban from the game, Zhao played last year’s World Championship as an amateur, the complete contrast to defending champion.
‘The pressure is very, very big. It’s not like before,’ he told the BBC.
‘This is very different, last year I was not [a] seed, like a nobody guy, just want to beat anyone but now I don’t want to lose any match. I want to keep going, it’s different.’
Asked if the pressure has been keeping him awake at night, he said: ‘Yeah, a few days this week I didn’t sleep very well. I think it’s always like that in the Crucible match, but I think tonight I’ll be better.’
Zhao feels he is not alone in feeling the pressure, as snooker is so popular in China that all the Chinese players are under a harsh spotlight.
‘I think the Chinese players have more pressure because now in China snooker is a very popular sport,’ he said. ‘We have a lot of snooker fans watching the TV, so it’s very good news, but our players have more pressure.
‘[Last year] every match if I win I was very happy, if I lose it’s ok I’m going back to China with my family. Now if I get to quarter-final I just want to go to semi.’
Zhao and Murphy play over three sessions in the quarter-finals starting on Tuesday morning.