Curses have a peculiarly strong hold in sport. In baseball, the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ saw the Boston Red Sox suffer almost nine decades of misfortune for the sin of trading their best player, Babe Ruth, to their bitter rivals the New York Yankees, while the ‘Curse of the Billy Goat’ led the Chicago Cubs to endure a 108-year World Series drought for ejecting a spectator and his disruptive pet goat from Wrigley Field.

Mayo’s Gaelic football stars’ disrespect of a funeral cortege inflicted the ‘Curse of ‘51’ that has seen them lose 11 All-Ireland finals since their last success 75 years ago and Ireland’s men’s rugby team don’t have a catchy moniker for their struggle but the pain of eight Rugby World Cup quarter-final appearances and eight defeats (plus one loss in a quarter-final playoff for good measure) is real.

Snooker’s most famous hex is a tad more prosaic – there are no scorned farm animals or angry grieving families here – but the ‘Crucible Curse’ is just as impactful. Twenty men who have won their first World Snooker Championship title at the iconic Crucible Theatre since it moved there in 1977 have tried to defend it the next year. All 20 have failed.

Everyone, from surprise, one-off champions to the greatest of all-time who would go on to dominate their era have fallen short the year after their first world crown.

Stephen Hendry won six world titles in seven years from 1990 to 1996. The lone exception? That was 1991, when the Scot suffered a shock 13-11 defeat in the quarter-finals to the unheralded Steve James.

Steve Davis looked set to be unbeatable having ruthlessly dominated the 1981 World Championship for his maiden title but was turned over 10-1 by Tony Knowles in the first round the following year, while the great Ronnie O’Sullivan followed his 2001 Sheffield success with a 17-13 loss to Hendry in the semi-finals in 2002.

The two men to come closest to breaking the curse are a pair of more unexpected names in Joe Johnson and Ken Doherty – both reaching the final the year after their first (and only) world title but losing.

This year, the poor soul traipsing back to the Crucible trying to defy the snooker Gods and their potent hoodoo is Zhao Xintong, who became China’s first-ever snooker world champion in a landmark moment for the sport last May. But, whisper it quietly, Zhao is actually the perfect man to break the curse.

Heavy has been the head that has worn the crown down the years – and no previous champion has had to deal with the burden of expectation from a population of 1.4bn either – but Zhao has taken it all in his stride. His fearless style of play on the baize, coupled with an unruffled demeanour, shone at last year’s World Championship as he was rarely under pressure in his matches – a 13-10 victory over compatriot Lei Peifan in the second round the only time an opponent was within six frames of him when he crossed the winning line.

That dominance came after he was forced to win four matches just to qualify for the Crucible and was technically competing as an amateur, after his return from a match-fixing ban the previous September. Now a fully-fledged member of the professional tour again, the 26-year-old has kicked on to become the best player in the world.

Despite the snooker world rankings working on a two-year cycle, and Zhao not yet having one full season of results and winnings under his belt, he still resides at No 4. At some point next season, or perhaps as soon as next month, he will ascend to top of the pile. He has won four tournaments this season, including all three of the prestigious Players Series ranking events over the past two months – the World Grand Prix, the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. These slightly longer-format events usually serve as a good barometer for what is to come at the Crucible.

There is seemingly no weight on Zhao’s shoulders and he’s obliterating world-class opponent after world-class opponent. World No 1 Judd Trump was brushed aside 10-3, for the heaviest final defeat of his career, in the recent Tour Championship showpiece, while John Higgins was demolished 10-1 in the semi-final, having been beaten 10-7 by the Chinese star in the Players Championship final.

Someone, surely, will give him a genuine test this year in Sheffield but there is nothing to suggest he won’t come through it. The 26-year-old is young and athletic enough to be unruffled by the physical demands of the 17-day Crucible marathon, while his mental fortitude in successfully returning from a ban to immediately ascend to the top of the sport is clear. He thrives when the pressure is greatest, as demonstrated by the fact he has won each of the six ranking finals he has reached; in snooker history, only Davis (with seven) has won more consecutive finals to begin a career.

The ‘Crucible Curse’ is strong but Zhao Xintong might just be stronger. Not that there will be any shortage of candidates looking to wrestle the famous trophy from his grasp.

O’Sullivan’s attempt to win a record eighth Crucible crown will garner interest well beyond just the normal snooker fraternity and although the 50-year-old has struggled for silverware over the last couple of years, reaching the World Open final last month and winning an exhibition tournament last weekend has bred confidence.

“I started playing alright a couple of weeks ago,” said O’Sullivan after the exhibition win. “For three years I have been very poor, pretty much every day. So I didn’t think I’d ever have another day where I’d feel good. But the last month I’ve been feeling alright. So it was nice to feel comfortable at the table.”

Given his perfectionist tendencies and propensity to be brutally hard on himself, ‘the Rocket’ describing himself as “playing alright” is the equivalent of most players saying they’re in the form of their life… Opponents beware.

Meanwhile, world No 1 Trump has made five finals this season to show why he’s top of the rankings, although only having the German Masters trophy to show for it will be a frustration he is eager to correct at the Crucible in pursuit of a second world title that his quality deserves.

Four-time world champion Mark Selby has endured shock first-round defeats at each of the past two World Championships but victories at the UK Championship and Champion of Champions this season make the 42-year-old a live contender, while 2010 winner Neil Robertson – who passed 1000 career in November – has recaptured the form that deserted him for a couple of years.

Kyren Wilson succumbed to the ‘Crucible Curse’ 12 months ago but has firmly established himself as a top-five player in the world and a maiden Masters title in January once again demonstrated his comfort on the biggest stage, while 50-year-old Higgins is rejuvenated to the tune of three finals this campaign and fellow ‘class of ‘92’ member Mark Williams can also never be written off.

Can the curse help any of these men claim snooker’s most coveted prize? Or will Zhao fight off the hex and catapult the sport into a new era? There’s only one way to find out.