Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
player based at the Oracle Snooker Club,
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been admin ...
, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and won one ranking title at the inaugural
English Open
The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...
in
2016. He twice won the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
for China along with teammate
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
. Liang has made three
maximum break
A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...
s in his career, and reached an all-time high of 11th in the world rankings.
Liang was suspended from professional competition from 2 April until 1 August 2022 for bringing the sport into disrepute, following a domestic assault conviction. He was suspended again on 27 October 2022, and the
WPBSA
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...
subsequently disclosed that he is among seven Chinese players currently being investigated for match-fixing.
Career
Amateur years
As an amateur, Liang's major feats were as follows:
* 2003
IBSF World Snooker Championship
The IBSF World Snooker Championship (also known as the World Amateur Snooker Championship) is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. A nu ...
, men's division, quarter-finalist
* 2004 IBSF World Snooker Championship, under-21 division, semi-finalist
* 2005
International Open Series
The International Open Series (often referred to as Pontins International Open Series or PIOS for sponsorship purposes), was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season. It was originally called the ...
, under-21 division, no. 4 runner-up
Liang built on the positive start to his snooker career, winning an individual silver medal and a team gold medal at the
2006 Asian Games
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
.
2004/2005
Liang began his professional career during the
2004–05 snooker season playing on the
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
T ...
, which is the tier below the World Snooker Association Main Tour. He finished a mediocre 104th out of 168 competitors, having only accumulated 2150 points.
2005/2006
Liang received a wildcard nomination to the Main Tour despite not qualifying directly;
this was because he won the 2005
IBSF World Under-21 Championship The IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship (also known as the World Amateur Under-21 Snooker Championship) is the premier non-professional junior snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Sn ...
, and also because not all of the players that were eligible for the Main Tour took their places.
In his first ranking tournament, the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
, he lost in the first qualifying round to
Rory McLeod 2–5. He fared better in the next ranking event, the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, where he almost whitewashed
Alfred Burden
Alfred Burden (born 14 December 1976) is an English professional snooker player from London.
Career
Burden originally had his eyes set on making a career as a professional footballer, but a badly broken leg curtailed this ambition. He spent a ...
in the first qualifying round 9–1, but subsequently lost in the second qualifying round to
Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell (born 22 September 1972) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. He was ranked within the world's top 64 for 15 consecutive seasons.
Career
Campbell is most famous for whitewashing Stephen Hendry 9–0 in the 1998 ...
by the narrowest of margins, 8–9.
Liang qualified for his first ranking event at the
Welsh Open, beating
Sean Storey
Sean Storey (born 19 August 1971 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England) is a former English professional snooker player.
His best ranking performance to date came in the World Championship in 2003, where he defeated Joe Perry before bowing o ...
,
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reac ...
and
Rory McLeod to reach the main draw. He defeated
Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player.
Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...
in the first round 5–0, but his run was halted when he lost to
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...
3–5.
At the
Malta Cup
The European Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been staged periodically since 1989 as the European Open. Between 2005 and 2008 it was known as the Malta Cup and was the sole ranking tournament in Europe outside the Brit ...
, however, he lost in the first qualifying round to
Paul Davies
Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...
3–5. At the
China Open, he beat
David McDonnell and
Matthew Couch
Matthew Couch (born 30 June 1974) is an English former professional snooker player.
Career
During a professional career lasting from 1992 to 2012, Couch had little success in ranking events, although he reached the quarter-finals of the UK Ch ...
before losing against
Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell (born 24 August 1972) is an English former professional snooker player from Telford. He has reached the last-16 in four world ranking events (three in Asia, in three different seasons, and at the 2008 Grand Prix), but has yet to ...
3–5 in the third qualifying round. He ended the season falling at the first hurdle at the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, losing to
Joe Delaney
Joe Alton Delaney (; October 30, 1958 – June 29, 1983) was an American football running back who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). In his two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Delaney set four franchise records ...
5–10 in the first qualifying round. Liang ended his debut season on the professional tour ranked 78th, a position that would not guarantee a place in the following season's tour; however, he had finished inside the top 8 of the one year ranking list, which qualified him for a place on the main tour for the next season.
2006/2007
During the
2006–07 season, Liang reached at least the second round of qualifying in every ranking event. At the
Northern Ireland Trophy
The Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional snooker tournament.
History
First contested in 1981 and named ''Northern Ireland Classic''. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the f ...
, he beat
Robert Stephen
Robert Stephen (born 27 June 1984) is a Scottish former professional snooker player.
He first qualified for the main tour for the 2006–07 season having topped the Scottish rankings the year before. During the 2008–09 season, he reache ...
5–0 before falling to
David Gilbert 0–5 in qualifying.
However, at the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
, Liang came top of his qualifying group, above more experienced players such as
Gerard Greene
Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast.
Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...
and
Barry Pinches
Barry Pinches (born 13 July 1970 in Catton, Norwich) is an English professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a former top 3 ...
. He finished fourth in his group at the round-robin stage, and although he did not progress to the next round, he did beat former world champion and world number one
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
3–0.
At the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, he lost in the second round of qualifying to
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reac ...
7–9.
In the following ranking event, the
Malta Cup
The European Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been staged periodically since 1989 as the European Open. Between 2005 and 2008 it was known as the Malta Cup and was the sole ranking tournament in Europe outside the Brit ...
, he lost to
Joe Jogia 3–5, again in the second round of qualifying.
He qualified for the
Welsh Open, his third ranking tournament, by beating
Dene O'Kane
Dene O'Kane (born 24 February 1963) is a former professional snooker player from Auckland, New Zealand.
Career
O'Kane won the 1980 New Zealand Amateur Championship, and represented New Zealand at the 1982 IBSF World Snooker Championship, winn ...
, Joe Jogia and
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
. He met Nigel Bond again in the last 48, this time losing only 3–5.
At the
China Open, he continued his run of reaching the second round of qualifying in every ranking tournament, and beat Robert Stephen before losing to
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's
Robin Hull
Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player.
For some time, he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour. He is known as a solid -builder, having compiled over 150 competitive during his career, a ...
.
At the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, he beat
Jeff Cundy
Jeff Cundy (born 1 March 1969) is an English amateur snooker player, who spent a number of seasons as a professional between 1991 and 2007.
Career
1991 to 1997
Cundy turned professional in 1991, playing and losing his first match against Tim ...
before losing to
Mike Dunn.
After a modest season, he improved on his tour ranking by finishing in 66th place, just outside the top 64;
and he topped the one year ranking list to ensure his place on the WSA Tour for next season.
2007/2008
Liang started the season by almost qualifying for the
Shanghai Masters, however Nigel Bond beat him 5–3 in the last qualifying round, preventing him from appearing at his home tournament. At the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
, he could not repeat the success of last season and failed to qualify, finishing third on frame difference. He had more luck at the next tournament, the
Northern Ireland Trophy
The Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional snooker tournament.
History
First contested in 1981 and named ''Northern Ireland Classic''. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the f ...
, where he won through the qualifying rounds, beating
Fraser Patrick
Fraser Patrick (born 8 November 1985) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Glasgow.
Career
Patrick started his professional career in 2002 by playing Challenge Tour, where he spent three seasons without success. In 2007 Patrick ear ...
,
Joe Delaney
Joe Alton Delaney (; October 30, 1958 – June 29, 1983) was an American football running back who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). In his two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Delaney set four franchise records ...
and
Rory McLeod on the way. He faced Gerard Greene in the last 48, but lost 2–5. He had less success at the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, losing in the second qualifying round to
David Roe
David Roe (born 11 September 1965) is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist.
Career
Roe was born on 11 September 1965 in Derby. He began his professional career for the 1986–87 snoo ...
2–9. He also failed to qualify for the
Welsh Open, when he was dispatched in the last qualifying round by
Andrew Norman
Andrew Norman (born October 31, 1979) is an American composer of contemporary classical music whose texturally complex music is influenced by architecture and the visual arts. His string trio '' The Companion Guide to Rome'' (2010), was a runne ...
2–5. He fell at the first hurdle at his other home tournament, the
China Open, losing in the first qualifying round to
Steve Mifsud, who at the end of this season was ranked 54 places below Liang.
At the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, Liang was the third Chinese player to qualify for the main draw, defeating
Ben Woollaston
Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the ...
,
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".
After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...
,
David Gilbert and
Ian McCulloch in the qualifying rounds. He met
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...
in the first round of the championship, and defeated him 10–5. Before the start of this match, he accidentally entered the arena at the same time as the match officials and had to hurry back; he subsequently received a warm ovation when he entered the arena for a second time after being introduced by MC Rob Walker.
For every session thereafter, Walker introduced him as "
Should he stay or should he go... Liang Wenbo", despite the rhyme occurring due to a mispronunciation of his name ("bo" is pronounced "bwor" in Chinese).
Liang faced
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's
Joe Swail
Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Ch ...
in the last 16 of the tournament. In a humorous incident, Liang fluked a red after scattering the balls, but failed to notice and went back to his seat. To the amusement of the spectators, Swail pointed out the mistake and the referee called Liang back to the table.
In the 23rd frame, with a 12–10 lead, Liang prematurely celebrated winning the match after potting "match ball", only to then lose the frame due to a snooker; Swail came back to level the match at 12–12. In the final frame, Liang made early breaks of 34 and 30. He missed the final yellow but snookered Swail, leaving the cue ball in the jaws of the pocket. Liang followed up with a safety shot but Swail snookered him behind the blue; Liang failed to hit the yellow ball so Swail had the white replaced. In his second attempt, Liang hit the yellow directly and went on to win the frame 74–34, and thus the match, 13–12.
The incident in the last frame proved controversial as the referee replaced the cue ball in the wrong position, giving Liang a better sight of the yellow. At the time, Swail nodded his assent to the referee, but he complained in a post-match interview that Liang had behaved unprofessionally by not pointing out the referee's error. Commentators countered that Swail should have queried the placement of the ball before Liang took his shot, and that, given the tension of the situation, Liang could be forgiven for not thinking clearly.
Liang faced eventual champion
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
in the quarter-final, taking the first two frames with a break of 80 in the first, but O'Sullivan had levelled the match 4–4 by the end of the first session. O'Sullivan eased ahead in the second session and eventually won the match 13–7. Liang's run to the quarter-finals of the World Championship gained him 5000 ranking points, boosting his final ranking to number 40 in the world.
This guaranteed that he would only have to win two qualifying matches to enter the main draw of the ranking tournaments the following season.
2008/2009
Liang began the new season by qualifying for the last 48 of the
Northern Ireland Trophy
The Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional snooker tournament.
History
First contested in 1981 and named ''Northern Ireland Classic''. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the f ...
. He then beat
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...
and
Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
to reach the last 16, where he lost to
John Higgins
John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
1–5. This result lifted him to a provisional career high of 26 in the world.
He reached the main draw of the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
by winning two qualifying matches, but then succumbed to
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
in the first round of the main draw. He then made a
147 147 may refer to:
* 147 (number), a natural number
* AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century
* 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE
...
and three other centuries (including two total clearances of 139) in a 5–1 victory over
Martin Gould
Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters.
Career
Gould began his pr ...
in the third qualifying round of the
Bahrain Championship. However, he failed to qualify for the main draw, losing 2–5 to
Michael Judge
Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
.
For the two Chinese events on this season's tour, Liang's two qualifying matches were held over until the venue stages. At the
2008 Shanghai Masters, he defeated
Atthasit Mahitthi
Atthasit Mahitthi ( th, อรรถสิทธิ์ มหิทธิ) (born 13 September 1978) is a former professional Thai snooker player.
Mahitthi reached the semi-final at the 2006 IBSF World Amateur Championship in Amman, Jordan, w ...
and
Mark Allen to reach the main draw, but lost to
Ryan Day 0–5 in the first round. Ironically, his second qualifying match for the Welsh Open was held over to ensure that his Welsh opponent
Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Career
Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
played at the main venue in Newport.
Liang ended the season at the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, after defeating
Dave Harold
David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of ...
10–3 in the last qualifying round. He lost in the first round of the main draw 8–10 against
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
.
2009/2010
In July 2009, Liang won his first professional title, the
Beijing International Challenge, beating world number 2
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...
7–6 in the final.
He made a further breakthrough in August when he reached the final of the
Shanghai Masters, becoming only the second
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
player, and the fourth Asian man, to reach a ranking final. He ultimately finished runner-up to
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
.
Liang qualified for the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
but was defeated 2–5 by
Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
in the first round, winning the first two frames and losing the last five in succession. Prior to this meeting, he had played Ebdon twice, winning 5–1 and 5–0. He reached the quarter-finals of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
after defeating Ryan Day 9–3, and Mark King 9–2. He went on to lose 2–9 to John Higgins in the quarter-finals. He failed to qualify for the
Welsh Open and the
China Open, as he lost 3–5 against
Michael Judge
Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...
and 2–5 against
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Career
Early years
After some success in amateur tourn ...
respectively.
Liang qualified for the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
by defeating
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".
After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...
10–2. He was drawn against
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
, but lost 7–10. After the quarter-finals of the event, it was clear that Liang would be ranked as number 16 the
following season, the only new player entering the top 16 that season.
2010/2011
Liang began the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
at the
Wuxi Classic
The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...
, where he lost in the first round 2–5 against
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...
.
He participated at the
Beijing International Challenge to defend his first professional title, but lost in the semi-finals 4–6 against eventual winner
Tian Pengfei
Tian Pengfei (, born 16 August 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He began his career by playing the Challenge Tour in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. Tian played on the Main Tour in 2006 and competed on the ...
. Liang failed to qualify for the
World Open, as he lost 1–3 against
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Career
Early years
After some success in amateur tourn ...
and lost his first round match at the
Shanghai Masters 3–5 against
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
.
Having started the season inside the top 16, his results were not sufficient to maintain that position and he slipped out of the top 16.
After this, he lost his qualifying matches in the five ranking tournaments.
Liang also participated at the
Players Tour Championship
The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification ...
, his best performance coming at the
third European event, where he reached the final, but lost 0–4 against
Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell (born 22 September 1972) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. He was ranked within the world's top 64 for 15 consecutive seasons.
Career
Campbell is most famous for whitewashing Stephen Hendry 9–0 in the 1998 ...
.
After 12 out of 12 events, he was ranked 14th in the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit. He lost his first round match at the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
1–4 against
Ricky Walden
Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester.
Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...
.
2011/2012
Liang and
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
represented China at the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
and they won in the final 4–2 against the
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
team. During his match against
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
in the first round of
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...
, Liang had a chance to make his second
maximum break
A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...
in his career, but he snookered himself on the yellow ball, and the break ended at 120. He won the match 5–4 to reach the second round, where he lost 4–5 against
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...
. He also qualified for the
Shanghai Masters, but lost in the first round 1–5 against
Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...
. After this, he was unable to qualify for the next two ranking events, as he lost 2–6 against
Michael White at the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, and 3–5 against
Liu Chuang at the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
.
In December 2011, Liang joined Romford-based snooker Academy and management team Grove Leisure.
He beat
David Gilbert and
Rory McLeod, both 4–1, to reach the first round of the
Welsh Open, where he faced
John Higgins
John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
and was this time on the wrong end of a 4–1 scoreline. He narrowly missed out on a place in the
World Open as he was defeated 4–5 by
Mark King in the final round of qualifying. He also lost in qualifying for the
China Open to the eventual winner of the event
Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
0–5.
Liang played in eleven of the twelve minor-ranking
PTC events throughout the season, with a best finish in
Event 10, where he lost in the quarter-finals to
Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Career
Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
. He also reached the last 16 in two other events to finish 38th in the PTC
Order of Merit, outside of the top 24 who qualified for the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
He qualified for the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
by defeating
Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell (born 22 September 1972) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. He was ranked within the world's top 64 for 15 consecutive seasons.
Career
Campbell is most famous for whitewashing Stephen Hendry 9–0 in the 1998 ...
10–9. He had led the match 8–2 and 9–5 before Campbell took it to 9–9, at which point the match was suspended to allow players on the other tables to begin their sessions. Liang subsequently won the decider with a 72 break and played defending champion Higgins again in the first round. He was involved in another final-frame decider, but was this time on the losing end as he bowed out of the tournament on the opening day, 9–10. He finished the season ranked world number 37.
2012/2013
Liang lost in qualifying for both the
Wuxi Classic
The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...
and the
Shanghai Masters to
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".
After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...
. He reached the venue stage of the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...
by beating
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon
Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon ( ''Ṭhnwạtʹhn̒ T̄hirphngṣ̄̒phịbūly̒''; born December 14, 1993) is a Thai former professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 as the Asian nomination following his run to the semi-finals of ...
, but lost 3–5 in the first round against
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
.
[.] Liang beat
Anthony McGill
Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus.
McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...
and
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open.
Career
Early years
After some success in amateur tourn ...
to qualify for the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, where he saw a 4–3 lead in the first round against
Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...
turn into a 4–6 defeat. Liang failed to qualify for the next two events, but won two matches to enter the main draw of both the
Welsh Open and the
China Open. In Wales he lost 2–4 to local favourite Stevens in the first round, and in his homeland of China he beat Lu Ning 5–1 in the wildcard round, before losing 3–5 to
Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...
in the first round.
Liang had a very consistent season in the
Players Tour Championship
The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification ...
series as he advanced to, but not past, the last 16 in five of the ten events.
This saw him placed 27th on the PTC Order of Merit, one spot short of making the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. Liang's season ended when he was beaten 6–10 by
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
in the final round of
World Championship Qualifying. His end of year ranking was world number 32.
2013/2014
In July 2013, Liang reached the final of the
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
but lost in the gold medal match 0–3 to
Aditya Mehta
Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Meht ...
.
He had an excellent season in the Asian Tour events by reaching the semi-finals of the
Zhangjiagang Open where he was defeated 1–4 by
Michael Holt and at the
Zhengzhou Open, where Liang won his first individual title on the World Snooker Tour.
He beat
Anthony McGill
Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus.
McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...
4–3 in the semi-finals before whitewashing
Lü Haotian 4–0 to claim the £10,000 first prize. In the full ranking events, Liang won five successive frames against defending world champion
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
in the second round of the
International Championship to triumph 6–4 which marked his first ever success over his opponent having lost in all four previous attempts. He then thrashed
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
6–1 to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time in four years, where he lost 3–6 against
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...
. Liang reached the last 16 of both the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
and
Welsh Open, losing 2–5 to
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
and 2–4 to
Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...
respectively.
A second final on the Asian Tour followed at the
Dongguan Open where
Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...
made four breaks above 50 to defeat him 4–1, but Liang still topped the
Order of Merit to qualify for the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. There, he was beaten 2–4 by
Yu Delu
Yu Delu (; born 11 October 1987) is a former professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. He is currently serving a 10 years and 9 months ban for match-fixing from 25 May 2018 until 24 February 2029. The ban was announced on ...
and Liang was defeated 7–10 by
Martin Gould
Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters.
Career
Gould began his pr ...
in the final round of
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
qualifying.
2014/2015
Liang overcame
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reac ...
5–1 in the first round of the
2014 Wuxi Classic, and then inflicted the first defeat on
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...
since he won the World Championship, beating him 5–3. In the last 16, Liang was knocked out 2–5 by
Joe Perry. He lost 3–5 against
Robert Milkins
Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998.
Milkin ...
in the opening round of the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...
, and in the wildcard round of the
Shanghai Masters 1–5 to Yan Bingtao.
He failed to get past the last 64 of the next two ranking events, but won two matches to reach the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
, where he eliminated
Li Hang Li Hang is the name of:
* Li Hang (footballer) (李行, born 1989), Chinese association footballer
*Li Hang (snooker player) (李行, born 1990), Chinese snooker player
See also
* Li Gang (Song dynasty) (李綱, 1083–1140), regional commander se ...
5–1 in the first round. He reached the quarter-finals by coming back from 3–4 down against
Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...
to win 5–4 on the final pink. He repeated this form when he edged
Ryan Day 5–4 to play in his second career ranking event semi-final, where he took four frames in a row to hold a narrow 4–3 advantage over
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
, before losing three successive frames in a 4–6 defeat. Liang did not drop a single frame in seeing off
Cao Xinlong
Cao Xinlong (; born 16 August 1981) is a former professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China.
Cao turned professional in 2013 after finished fourth highest ranked amateur on the APTC Order of Merit, winning a tour card for 2 ...
and
Gerard Greene
Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast.
Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...
at the
Welsh Open, but was then the victim of a whitewash by
John Higgins
John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
in the third round. At the inaugural
World Grand Prix, he lost 3–4 to
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...
in the second round.
In the final round of
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
qualifying, he lost the last three frames against compatriot
Zhang Anda
Zhang Anda (born 25 December 1991) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 season. He qualified by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship.
Standing at 5 ft. 3 in. tall, h ...
to be narrowly defeated 9–10.
2015/2016
Liang was heavily beaten 2–8 by
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (, ; born 18 April 1985) is a Thai professional snooker player.
He has won one ranking event, the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out, and finished as runner-up in the 2019 World Open. He is regarded as one of the fastest snooker playe ...
in the final of the
2015 Six-red World Championship. In the third round of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, he took advantage of a collapse from
Judd Trump
Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...
to win 6–4 after trailing 1–4. He then saw off
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...
6–5, after which Ford accused Liang of "boring him off the table" with slow play. Liang responded by opening his quarter-final match against
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...
with three centuries and hung on to edge it 6–5, then came from 2–4 behind to reach the final by beating
David Grace
David Grace (born 1949 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England) is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART ...
6–4. It was the first final in the history of the event to feature two players from outside the United Kingdom; Liang lost the match 5–10 to eventual UK champion
Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...
. A week later, he progressed to the semi-finals of the
Gibraltar Open, but was whitewashed 0–4 by Fu.
Liang's UK final helped him break back into the top 16 in the world rankings to make his debut at the
Masters, where he was knocked out 4–6 by
John Higgins
John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
in the opening round. He was whitewashed 0–4 by
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
in the quarter-finals of the
World Grand Prix.
After winning three matches to qualify for the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, Liang lost 8–10 to
Judd Trump
Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...
after an earlier 7–3 lead.
2016/2017
In the first round of the
Shanghai Masters, Liang was narrowly beaten 4–5 by
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
. He won five matches at the
English Open
The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...
, which included a 4–3 second round victory over
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
, to reach the semi-finals.
From 3–4 down, Liang made breaks of 134 and 138 and
Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...
made a 116 to lock the score at 5–5. Liang took the decider and then ended
Judd Trump's 14-match winning streak in the final to win his maiden ranking title 9–6. He became the second player from mainland China to win a ranking event and thanked O'Sullivan (with whom he practises daily) for his help. The win also gave him entry to his first
Champion of Champions where he lost 0–4 in the opening round to
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...
.
In the
Scottish Open, Liang reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to
Yu Delu
Yu Delu (; born 11 October 1987) is a former professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. He is currently serving a 10 years and 9 months ban for match-fixing from 25 May 2018 until 24 February 2029. The ban was announced on ...
4–5. In the
Masters, he missed the final black, which would have seen him eliminate O'Sullivan 6–4 in the opening round of the
Masters, instead going on to lose 5–6. A 4–0 thrashing of
Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Career
Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
and a pair of 4–3 victories over
Mark Allen and
Joe Perry moved Liang into the semi-finals of the
World Grand Prix, where he was defeated 1–6 by
Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...
.
In the second round of the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, Liang trailed
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
2–6 after the first session and 7–9 after the second. He then won a trio of frames to take the lead in the match for the first time and would have been 12–11 ahead, one frame away from reaching the quarter-finals for the second time, but instead lost 12–13. After the event, his end-of-season ranking rose to 11, which was a career-high.
2017/2018
Though Liang had a decent campaign this season, he was unable to reach the same height as previous season. In his first round match against
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
at the
Masters. In a best -of-11 match, Liang led 5-4 up and only needed the final black in the 10th frame to guarantee his place in the quarter final; however, he missed the relatively easy black, and subsequently lost the frame and eventually the match. In his match against Rod Lawler in the World Championship Qualifying round, Liang made a 147 in the 10th frame, the third 147 in his career. But interestingly, he also had a chance to make another 147 in the 12th frame, but he missed the tricky final black.
2018/2019
Liang had a somewhat of a down season in the 2018/19 campaign. His best results came in the
European Masters,
China Open, and
China Championship, in which he advanced to the third round. Liang only earned a total of 78,500 ranking points, which was 141,100 points shy from his best season in 2016/2017.
2019/2020
This season Liang saw some improvement in this form. His best result came in the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...
, in which he defeated
Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Career
Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
,
David Grace
David Grace (born 1949 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England) is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART ...
,
Eden Sharav, and
Li Hang Li Hang is the name of:
* Li Hang (footballer) (李行, born 1989), Chinese association footballer
*Li Hang (snooker player) (李行, born 1990), Chinese snooker player
See also
* Li Gang (Song dynasty) (李綱, 1083–1140), regional commander se ...
, before losing to the eventual champion
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
in the quarter final. Liang also reached the quarter final of the
Gibraltar Open, losing 4–1 to
Judd Trump
Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...
.
Legal and disciplinary issues
Domestic assault conviction
On 20 July 2021, Liang was captured on CCTV repeatedly punching and kicking a woman during an argument in Sheffield city centre. The victim also made an
emergency call
Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assista ...
, during which she was reported to be screaming in distress. After pleading guilty to domestic assault at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on 9 February 2022, Liang was sentenced on 1 April 2022 to a 12-month community order plus a £1,380 fine.
Sheffield Heeley MP
Louise Haigh
Louise Margaret Haigh () (born 22 July 1987) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the 201 ...
called the outcome "a shockingly pathetic sentence for such a violent and appalling assault" and called for Liang to be barred from the upcoming
2022 World Snooker Championship.
On 2 April 2022, the day after Liang's sentencing, the
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...
(WPBSA) suspended him from professional competition with immediate effect. Liang was thus unable to compete in the World Championship qualifiers, which began on 4 April. The WPBSA held a disciplinary hearing on 26 May 2022, where Liang accepted he had breached WPBSA Members' Rules and his contract with World Snooker Limited by engaging in behaviour unbecoming of a sportsperson and by bringing the sport into disrepute. The WPBSA suspended him for four months, from 2 April until 1 August 2022, and ordered him to pay £1,000 towards the costs of the hearing. Liang returned to competition at the
2022 British Open qualifiers.
Match-fixing investigation
The WPBSA suspended Liang again on 27 October 2022, stating that he was the subject of misconduct allegations. After six other Chinese players were suspended in December 2022 as part of a match-fixing investigation, the WPBSA disclosed that Liang's suspension related to the same investigation. One suspended player,
Chang Binyu, alleged on Chinese social networking site
Weibo that Liang had threatened him before his match against
Jamie Jones at the
2022 British Open, ordering him to lose the match by a scoreline of 1–4. Chang alleged that Liang had made him feel "really scared".
Personal life
Liang is married to Chen Xuejiao; they have one child.
In 2020, prior to the
World Grand Prix, Liang had pledged to donate any money he would receive at the tournament to the Huizhou Red Cross in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Performance and rankings timeline
Career finals
Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)
Minor-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)
Non-ranking finals: 5 (1 title)
Pro-am finals: 2
Team finals: 4 (2 titles)
Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)
References
External links
Liang Wenboat ''worldsnooker.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Wenbo
1987 births
Living people
Chinese snooker players
People from Suihua
Sportspeople from Heilongjiang
Asian Games medalists in cue sports
Asian Games gold medalists for China
Asian Games silver medalists for China
Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games
Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games
Cue sports players at the 2006 Asian Games
Cue sports players at the 2010 Asian Games
World Games silver medalists
Competitors at the 2013 World Games
21st-century Chinese people