Snooker player Mark Allen literally threw in the towel as he was thrashed by Zhao Xintong in the Champion of Champions.The Northern Irish star was crushed 4-0 by the current world champion Zhao Xintong in Leicester, winning just one point in the best-of-seven frames match. Allen potted just the one red as Chinese star Zhao put on a clinic. In contrast, Xintong scored 351 points.These included three breaks over 60, although he didn’t score a century as he didn’t need to.The fourth frame saw Zhao miss the pot of a black on a score from 76 to Allen’s 0. Allen opted not to go for an improbable comeback as he lobbed his towel back onto the table to signify that he’d given up the ghost.And after the contest, Allen responded to a post on X from journalist Phil Haigh about the defeat in which he jokingly commented on his one red.He joked: “It was a very good red I thought.”And in a later post, the 2023 winner of this tournament revealed that he was selling his his Champion of Champions shirt.The caption with the post read: “One champion of champions shirt for sale in my fundraising event. Pretty much brand new.”Zhao is now currently locked in a battle with 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson for a place in the next round.And speaking after his win over Allen, he said: “I just landed in Manchester Airport this morning, and arrived in Leicester at about 11am.“I missed the Champion of Champions, but I’m happy to be here.View Tweet: https://twitter.com/sportsbet?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwView Tweet: https://t.co/tZCTwTc0wvAllen won’t have suffered a heavier defeat in his careerAllen has still enjoyed a good season and won the English Open in SeptemberGetty“To be honest, I played really well, but I can do it better. Kyren is a really tough player, and I need to play really good to beat him.”Zhao backAfter winning the Snooker World Championship for the first time earlier this year with a blistering tournament, the Chinese star has dropped off this season.He started the campaign relatively well by making the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, only to lose to Wilson.But other than one appearance in the last 16 of the Saudi Arabia Masters, it has been a pretty bare season for Zhao until now.He made the semi-finals of the International Championships only to lose to fellow Chinese star Wu Yize 9-6.But on the way to the last four, he saw off Mark Selby, and has now just dismantled Allen.So, it seems after a slow start to the campaign, the 2025 world champion is discovering form at just the right time.The UK Championships and Masters are around the corner, and a fully firing Zhao will be one of the clear favourites.