Wu Yize
Wikipedia - Wu Yize
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’. He won his first ranking title and the first professional title of his career in winning the 2025 International Championship defeating John Higgins 10–6 in the final. He made 14 century breaks during the tournament. This win moved him into the top 16 for the first time in his career.
History
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.
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.
2021-22: Turning professional and 'rookie of the year'
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. 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.
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. 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. In October 2023, he reached the semi-final of the 2023 Wuhan Open.
On 18 June 2024, he topped his round robin group at the Championship League in Leicester. 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. 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. 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. The following month he reached the last-16 of the Wuhan Open.
In December 2024, he reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out. The following week, he reached the final of the 2024 Scottish Open. He concluded the 2024-25 season by qualifying for the 2025 World Snooker Championship with a 10-9 victory over Matthew Stevens in the final round of qualification. In the first round at The Crucible, he was defeated 10-8 by Mark Williams.
2025: Maiden ranking tournament victory; entry into the top-16
He topped his round-robin group at the 2025 Championship League in July 2025, going unbeaten against Craig Steadman, Wang Yuchen and Kreishh Gurbaxani. In September 2025, he reached the last-16 of the English Open before losing to Mark Selby.
In the last-16 of the 2025 International Championship in November 2025, he came from 0-4 down to defeat Judd Trump 6-4 before whitewashing Barry Hawkins 6-0 and reached his third ranking final with a 9-6 win over world champion Zhao Xintong. He won his first ranking title beating John Higgins 10–6 in the final. He made fourteen century breaks during the tournament. This win moved him into the top 16 for the first time in his career. On 11 December, he made the highest break in the history of the competition with 141 to beat Craig Steadman at the 2025 Snooker Shoot Out.