Wu Yize (Chinese: 吴宜泽; pinyin: Wú Yízé; born 14 October 2003) is a Chinese professional snooker player. In May 2022 he was named the World Snooker Tour’s ‘Rookie of the Year’.

Wu Yize
Born (2003-10-14) 14 October 2003 (age 21)
Lanzhou, Gansu, China
Sport country China
Professional2021–present
Highest ranking29 (November 2024)
Current ranking 29 (as of 11 November 2024)
Best ranking finishRunner-up (2024 English Open)

Career

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Wu Yize won the IBSF U-21 World Championship in 2018 when he was just fourteen years old, defeating Pongsakorn Chongjairak from Thailand 6–4 in the final.[1]

He was given a wildcard entry to the 2019 International Championship in Daqing, where he lost 5–6 to John Higgins. He made the last 32 of the 2019 Six-red World Championship in Bangkok, after progressing through the group stage. He again faced Higgins, this time losing 4–6. At the 2019 World Open in Yushan, he faced Luca Brecel, losing 2–5 but making breaks of 85 and 130.[2]

As a result of his performances on the 2021 CBSA China Tour, Wu was awarded a tour card for the 2021–22 and 2022–23 snooker seasons.[3] In May 2022, at the end of his debut season, he was given the World Snooker Tour's 'Rookie of that Year' award following three last-32 ranking event appearances.[4]

At the 2022 European Masters in August 2022, he defeated Luca Brecel, Rory McLeod and Ryan Day in a run through to the quarter-finals that was ended by Ali Carter.[5] A relatively quiet season ensued, but during qualifying for the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Wu defeated Allan Taylor and compatriot Tian Pengfei, before facing the 2023 Snooker Shoot-Out champion Chris Wakelin. He came back from 1–5 and 4–7 down to beat Wakelin 10–8 in the final qualifying round to reach the televised stages, held at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, for the first time.[6] In October 2023, he reached the semi-final of the 2023 Wuhan Open.[7]

On 18 June 2024, he topped his round robin group at the Championship League in Leicester.[8] he reached the last-32 at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where he lost to Judd Trump on a deciding frame despite having a 4-0 lead.[9][10] At the 2024 English Open in Brentwood in September 2024 he reached his first ranking final with wins over Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter.[11][12] In the final, he faced Neil Robertson and recovered from a 7-1 deficit to pull back to 8-7 before ultimately losing 9-7.[13] The following month he reached the last-16 of the Wuhan Open.[14]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/
20
2021/
22
2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[15][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 69 49 39
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event A RR RR 2R
Xi'an Grand Prix Tournament Not Held LQ
Saudi Arabia Masters Tournament Not Held 5R
English Open A A A 1R 2R 1R F
British Open Not Held 2R LQ 1R 1R
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held SF 3R
Northern Ireland Open A A A LQ LQ LQ 1R
International Championship A A LQ Not Held LQ 2R
UK Championship A A A 3R LQ LQ
Shoot Out A A A A 1R 1R
Scottish Open A A A 1R LQ LQ
German Masters A A A LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open A A A LQ 1R 1R
World Open A A LQ Not Held 2R
World Grand Prix DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 1R
Players Championship DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Tour Championship NH DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship A A LQ LQ 1R LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters R A 1R Not Held A A
Former ranking tournaments
China Open A LQ Tournament Not Held
China Championship A A LQ Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters Not Held 2R Not Held
Gibraltar Open A A A WD Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 2R Not Held
European Masters A A A 2R QF 2R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Six-red World Championship A A 2R NH LQ Not Held
Haining Open 3R 1R 2R A NH A NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ^ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ a b c He was an amateur
  3. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

Career finals

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2024 English Open   Neil Robertson 7–9

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2018 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship   Pongsak Chongjairak 6–4

References

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  1. ^ Pathak, Vivek. "Wu Yize wins World Under-21 Snooker Championship". www.ibsf.info. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Ones To Watch – Wu Yize". World Snooker. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. ^ "CBSA Qualifiers 2021: Event One Results". WPBSA. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Robertson Named Player Of The Year". wst.tv. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "China's players eliminated before Final Four at European Masters". china.org.cn. Xinhua. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022.
  6. ^ "End Of An Era For Hawkins And Maguire". wst.tv. April 11, 2023. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "WUHAN OPEN 2023: JUDD TRUMP THRASHES WU YIZE TO REACH FINAL AND SET UP ALL-ENGLISH CLASH WITH ALI CARTER". Eurosport. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  8. ^ "O'Donnell edges Walden with strong finish". wst.tv. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  9. ^ "WU TOPS TRUMP FOR FIRST TIME". wst.tv. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Trump looking for flights home before remarkable comeback". BBC SPORT. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  11. ^ "BETVICTOR ENGLISH OPEN MONDAY EVENING ROUNDUP". wst.tv. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  12. ^ Southby, Ben (20 September 2024). "ENGLISH OPEN 2024: JUDD TRUMP STUNNED IN BRENTWOOD AS WU YIZE REACHES SECOND CAREER RANKING SEMI-FINAL". Eurosport. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Robertson survives Wu comeback to win English Open". BBC Sport. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  14. ^ "WUHAN OPEN DAY THREE EVENING ROUNDUP". wst.tv. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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