Liu Hongyu (snooker player)

Liu Hongyu (Chinese: 刘宏宇; born 21 April 2004) is a Chinese snooker player. He won the APBSF Asia-Pacific Championship on 1 May 2023 to qualify for the World Snooker Tour, on a two-year card, starting from the 2023–24 snooker season.

Liu Hongyu
Born (2004-04-21) April 21, 2004 (age 20)
Taishan, Guangdong, China[1]
Sport country China
Professional2023–present
Highest ranking63 (December 2024)
Current ranking 63 (as of 2 December 2024)
Best ranking finishSemi-final (2023 English Open)

Early life

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Liu is from Taishan in the Guangdong province of China.[2]

Career

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At the 2022 Q School first event defeated Belgian Ben Mertens which included a break of 137.[3] He also scored centuries in Q school against Alfie Lee, and a 134 against Andy Milliard.[4]

2022–23 season

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In February 2023 he lost in the quarter finals to eventual winner Ma Hailong at the WSF Championship in Sydney, Australia.[5] During the tournament he had impressed with his high scoring, including breaks of 138 and 133.[6]

In April 2023 Liu lost in the final of the first CBSA World Snooker Tour qualifying tournament to Jiang Jun.[7] The following month he won the Asia-Pacific Championship with a 6-1 win in the final against Yuchen Wang to be the APBSF Asia Pacific qualifier on to the World Snooker Tour for the 2023-24 snooker season, on a two-year card.[8][9]

2023–24 season

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He started the 2023-24 season with the 2023 Championship League held at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England from 26 June 2023.[10] With victories over Ricky Walden, David Lilley and Peng Yisong, Liu topped his group at the Championship League on his tour debut.[11] In the second stage round-robin, he lost to Noppon Saengkham before beating Ashley Carty and drawing with Daniel Wells to finish as runner-up in the group to Saengkham.[12] He earned another professional win on 17 August 2023, at the British Open qualifying in Leicester, with a 4-1 win over Baipat Siripaporn.[13] He qualified for the 2023 European Masters, held in Germany, but had to pull out of the event when an issue with his visa prevented his travel.[14]

In October 2023, at the English Open, he came from 3-1 down to defeat former World Champion Shaun Murphy 4-3.[15] He followed this up with credible wins over ranking event finalist Joe O'Connor and former snooker shoot-out winner Chris Wakelin before defeating another former world champion Mark Williams to reach his first ranking event quarter-final. He then triumphed over compatriot Ding Junhui to reach his first ranking semi-final,[16] before losing to Zhang Anda by 2-6.[17] In December 2023, he recorded a second win of the season over Shaun Murphy, winning 4-1 at the Scottish Open.[18] He qualified for the 2024 German Masters in Berlin with a 5-0 whitewash over the experienced Dominic Dale.[19]

In the qualifying round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship he defeated Jimmy White 10-3.[20][21]

2024-25 season

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He reached the fourth round of the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters with a 4-1 win over Ricky Walden.[22] At the 2024 English Open in Brentwood in September 2024 he reached the last 64 where he was defeated on a deciding frame by Judd Trump.[23][24] He reached the last-64 at the 2024 Northern Ireland Open.[25]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 2023/
24
2024/
25
Ranking[nb 1] [nb 2] 67
Ranking tournaments
Championship League 2R RR
Xi'an Grand Prix NH LQ
Saudi Arabia Masters NH 5R
English Open SF 1R
British Open 1R LQ
Wuhan Open LQ LQ
Northern Ireland Open LQ 1R
International Championship LQ 1R
UK Championship LQ LQ
Shoot Out 1R
Scottish Open 2R LQ
German Masters 1R
Welsh Open LQ
World Open 1R
World Grand Prix DNQ
Players Championship DNQ
Tour Championship DNQ
World Championship LQ
Former ranking tournaments
European Masters WD 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. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

References

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  1. ^ "RISING STAR LIU STUNS DING". WST. 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. ^ "RISING STAR LIU STUNS DING". wst.tv. 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  3. ^ Sternik, Seb (18 May 2022). "Former ranking event winner Michael Holt knocked out of first Q School event". Planet Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  4. ^ "James Cahill Loses to Lukas Kleckers at Snooker Q School as Liu Hongyu Continues Heavy-Scoring Streak". Eurosport. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Ma Hailong earns professional main tour card". Snooker HQ. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  6. ^ "WSF Championship:The final 8". wst.tv. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Jiang Jun Wins CBSA Qualifier". wpbsa.com. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Player Hong Yu Liu's matches in the 2023 Asia Pacific Snooker Championship". Snookerscores.net. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Player profile:Hong Yu Liu". Snookerscores.net. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2023". Championship League Snooker. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Astley and Liu complete stage two line up". wst.tv. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Milkins and Saengkham top groups". wst.tv. 19 April 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Graham Dott edges through in qualifiers". SnookerHQ. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Neil Robertson Handed European Masters Snooker Boost After Liu Hongyu and Graeme Dott Withdraw From Ranking Event". 22 August 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Lucky Luca avoids Moody upset". wst.tv. 2 October 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  16. ^ Livie, Alex (6 October 2023). "English Open 2023: Youngster Liu Hongyu Beats Ding Junhui To Set Up Zhang Anda Semi-Final". Eurosport. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  17. ^ Livie, Alex (7 October 2023). "English Open 2023: Zhang Anda sinks Liu Hongyu, wants to 'make trouble' for Judd Trump in final". Eurosport. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  18. ^ Caulfield, David (12 December 2023). "Several top 16 seeds lose on opening day of Scottish Open". Snooker HQ. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  19. ^ Caulfield, David (18 December 2023). "German Masters: qualifiers draw and schedule". Snooker HQ. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  20. ^ "CRUCIBLE QUALIFYING DAY FOUR: HEATHCOTE WIN LEAVES LINES ON VERGE". WST. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Jimmy White's World Championship hopes ended by Liu Hongyu in qualifying". Sky Sports. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  22. ^ "SAUDI ARABIA SNOOKER MASTERS: JIMMY WHITE'S RIYADH RUN ENDED BY SI JIAHUI; STUART BINGHAM & NEIL ROBERTSON PROGRESS". Eurosport. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  23. ^ Bray, Jonny (15 September 2024). "ENGLISH OPEN 2024: LATEST SCORES, RESULTS, ORDER OF PLAY AS JUDD TRUMP LOOKS TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AT THE BRENTWOOD CENTRE". Eurosport. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  24. ^ "BETVICTOR ENGLISH OPEN MONDAY EVENING ROUNDUP". wst.tv. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  25. ^ Caulfield, David (30 September 2024). "Full list of results at the Northern Ireland Open qualifiers". Snooker HQ. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
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