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Dave Gilbert has revealed how Zhao Xintong’s 20-month ban following a match-fixing investigation affected him.

Zhao, who begins his UK title campaign against Shaun Murphy this afternoon, was only able to return to snooker in September following his suspension.

And the Chinese potter, who still has a strong following on tour thanks to his spectacular playing, left Gilbert very disappointed.

“He was the one who broke my heart, being involved in this whole scandal,” the world number 22 told Metro.

“He’s an incredible player. He’s a great guy, I don’t know the guy, but he was always smiling and happy. A beautiful player to watch, he made all the shots, he was a star, he was the Chinese Ronnie!”

“He’s not tired of match-fixing, is he? Betting on matches he knew were bad. I don’t think it’s healthy, but we’ve all been confused and made mistakes.”

“But I definitely feel like if people have thrown matches and succeeded at it, I don’t want to see them again, that’s all.”