Ng On-yee (; born 17 November 1990) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player who has won three
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 ...
World Women's Snooker
World Women's Snooker, founded as the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) in 1981, and known as World Ladies Billiards and Snooker (WLBS) from 2015 to 2018, is a subsidiary company of the World Professional Billiards and Snoo ...
world ranking list from February 2018 to April 2019.
After competing in several
International Billiards and Snooker Federation
The International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) is an organisation that governs non-professional snooker and English billiards around the world. As of January 2020, the organisation is headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
History
The World Bill ...
Reanne Evans
Reanne Evans (born 25 October 1985) is an English professional snooker player who competes on the World Women's Snooker Tour and the professional World Snooker Tour. She is the number one ranked player on the women's tour, and regularly featur ...
—who had held the title for the previous ten years—in the semi-final and won the title. After losing the final of the same tournament to Evans the following year, Ng regained the title in 2017, defeating Evans 5–4 in the semi-final and overcoming
Vidya Pillai
Vidya Viswanathan Pillai (born 26 November 1977) is an Indian professional snooker player. Vidya Pillai grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In recognition of her achievements, the Government of Karnataka bestowed her with the Ekalavya award in 2016 ...
6–5 in the protracted final. In 2018, Ng won the title for a third time and in 2019 she collected her third IBSF World Title.
Ng took up snooker at the age of 13 after being impressed by her father's skill at the game. She has been supported by the
Hong Kong Sports Institute
The Hong Kong Sports Institute () is a sports institute located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is mandated to provide training to athletes, and also offers academic qualification in the field of sports training. The institute sponsors ...
since 2010. Her highest in competition is 139, which she achieved at the 2018 Australian Women's Open.
Early life
Ng was born on 17 November 1990. She grew up in Hong Kong, within the working-class district of
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...
. She began learning to play snooker at the age of 13 in the snooker hall in which her father worked. He encouraged her to take up the game because she was lacking direction, performing poorly at school, and spending a lot of time playing online games. Ng was impressed by her father's playing ability and attire; she took up the sport and was coached by her father. She started entering tournaments in 2006.
She would practise the sport for between five and six hours daily; in one of her practice routines, Ng would cue through a small ring placed on the
table
Table may refer to:
* Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs
* Table (landform), a flat area of land
* Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns
* Table (database), how the table data ...
to help assess her accuracy. Her first international tournament was the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
. In 2007 and 2008, she won the Hong Kong Under-21 Snooker Open Championships, in which she competed against male players.
Ng left school at 17 to concentrate on her snooker skills but later returned to studying, and in 2016 gained a Higher Diploma in accounting from the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...
.
Career
Since 2010, Ng has been supported by the
Hong Kong Sports Institute
The Hong Kong Sports Institute () is a sports institute located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is mandated to provide training to athletes, and also offers academic qualification in the field of sports training. The institute sponsors ...
(HKSI), where she is an elite sports scholarship athlete. In 2015, she was receiving
HKD
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...
25,000 a month from the HKSI.
2007–2009: IBSF tournament success
Ng's first experience of an international snooker competition was at the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, Jordan, where she won three of her eight matches in the qualifying group, winning 13 and losing 16.
In the group stage of the 2007
IBSF World Under-21 Snooker 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 ...
, she recorded a 3–0 win over Hasani Armaghan of Iran and a 3–1 win over
Arantxa Sanchis
Arantxa Sanchis is a female professional English billiards and snooker player from India. She won a gold medal in the Women's Team event at the inaugural International Billiards and Snooker Federa ...
but lost 0–3 to
Bi Zhu Qing
Bi Zhu Qing (born 6 September 1988) is a professional pool and snooker player from China. She is best known as the winner of the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2011. and Keerath Bhandaal from India, the latter of whom was aged 11. In the semi-final, Ng won the first frame against her opponent Belmont, who took the next one. Ng won the following two frames to face
Bi Zhu Qing
Bi Zhu Qing (born 6 September 1988) is a professional pool and snooker player from China. She is best known as the winner of the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2011.Bi Zhu Qing
Bi Zhu Qing (born 6 September 1988) is a professional pool and snooker player from China. She is best known as the winner of the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2011.2007 Asian Indoor Games in
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
in November 2008.
In the qualifying group for the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship, Ng lost 2–3 to Ramona Belmont, whom she had defeated twice in the 2007 under-21 championship, and then bested Anuja Chandra 3–1 and Yu Ching Ching 4–2. In the last-16 round, Ng was trailing 0–2 to Yu Ching Ching but won four frames in a row to win the match 4–2. In the semi-finals, Ng faced Belmont and prevailed 4–3, having led 2–0 before falling behind 2–3. In the final, Ng produced some impressive and defeated Kathy Parashis, a 10-time winner of the Australian Open, 5–1. When Ng was leading 3–1, the players were summoned to
drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...
s and returned to take the remaining frame she required to win the match, becoming the youngest-ever IBSF women's champion at the age of 19.
Ng was omitted from the Hong Kong squad for the 2009
East Asian Games
The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic ...
, which were held in Hong Kong soon after her victory in the IBSF World Championship, because she was unable to attend the team training camp.
2010–2011: Second IBSF world title
At the
2010 Asian Games
The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...
, Ng won the gold medal as a member of the women's six-red snooker team, along with So Man Yan and
Jaique Ip
Jaique Ip Wan-in MH (; born 15 January 1980) is a Hong Kong amateur snooker player.
Biography
Ip won the silver medal at the 2006 IBSF World Championships in Amman, Jordan, after she lost 5–0 in the final against Wendy Jans.
. She also won a bronze medal for reaching the semi-finals in the six-red singles competition. She lost 3–4 to
Chen Siming
Chen Siming (born 30 December 1993) is a Chinese professional pool player. Chen is best known for winning the 2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
Career
Chen grew up in Heilongjiang Province, China, where her parents were owners of a pool hal ...
in the semi-finals of the individual competition.
On 15 December 2010, Ng successfully defended her
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 ...
title in Syria, defeating compatriot Jaique Ip 5–0 in the final. Having won the first three frames comfortably, Ng won the last two frames on the . On her way to the final, Ng won all six of her matches in the qualifying group without losing a frame. She then defeated Eslami Taherh 4–0 in the last 16, Anuja Chandra 4–3 in the quarter-finals—the only match in which Ng lost any frames—and
Vidya Pillai
Vidya Viswanathan Pillai (born 26 November 1977) is an Indian professional snooker player. Vidya Pillai grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In recognition of her achievements, the Government of Karnataka bestowed her with the Ekalavya award in 2016 ...
4–0 in the semi-finals. Ng reached the quarter-final of the 2011 WLBSA World Championship, losing 1–4 to eventual winner
Reanne Evans
Reanne Evans (born 25 October 1985) is an English professional snooker player who competes on the World Women's Snooker Tour and the professional World Snooker Tour. She is the number one ranked player on the women's tour, and regularly featur ...
.
2012: First ranking event win
Ng won her first women's ranking event, the 2012
Northern Championship
The Northern Championship is an association football (soccer) league in Northern Tasmania. Nationally it sits under the A-League and NPL Tasmania, equal to the Southern Championship. It is controlled by the Football Federation Tasmania
F ...
, without losing a frame during the tournament. She bested
Maria Catalano
Maria Catalano (born 27 February 1982) is an English snooker player.
Career
In the 2007 season she won the British Open and the Connie Gough National Championship. In December 2002, she was ranked number four in the world. She was ranked worl ...
3–0 in the final.
Having won the previous two IBSF world championships, in 2009 and 2010, Ng topped her qualifying group in 2012 by winning all four matches. She then progressed by defeating Arantxa Sanchis 4–1 in the last 16, Nicha Pathomekmongkhon 4–2 in the quarter-finals, and Siraphat Chitchomnart 4–2 in the semi-finals. In the final, Ng won only the third frame, losing 1–5 to
Wendy Jans
Wendy Jans (born 14 June 1983, in Bree, Belgium) is a Belgian professional snooker and pool player. She has won the IBSF World Snooker Championship for women seven times. She reached her first women's world final at the 2022 World Women's Snooke ...
. In the WLBSA World Championship, Ng won all of her five qualifying group matches but lost in the last 16 to Yu Ching Ching.
Maria Catalano
Maria Catalano (born 27 February 1982) is an English snooker player.
Career
In the 2007 season she won the British Open and the Connie Gough National Championship. In December 2002, she was ranked number four in the world. She was ranked worl ...
in the semi-finals.
In October 2013, Ng won the inaugural IBSF World Six-red snooker Championship in
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, Ireland. In the final, her opponent Daria Sirotina failed to score in three of the four frames Ng won to take the title 4–0, the frame scores being 34–0, 43–0, 45–37 and 42–0. Ng was also, with So Man Yee, runner-up in the Six-red team event. In November of the same year, Ng won the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) UK Ladies' Championship, defeating Maria Catalano 4–2 in the final.
2014: World Championship runner-up
Ng won the WLBSA Southern Classic in February with a victory over Maria Catalano in the final. She was the losing finalist in the WLBSA World Championship, losing 0–6 to Reanne Evans after winning 3–0 against
Laura Evans
Laura Evans (born 27 August) is a Welsh actress and singer from Aberdare, best known for her role as Madison Square-Gardens in the popular BBC television children's show ''The Basil Brush Show'' and more currently known as a country blues si ...
, 4–2 against
Tatjana Vasiljeva
Tatjana Vasiļjeva is a Latvian snooker player. She is national champion and European champion in snooker. She was the winner of the European ladies championship in 2012.
Vasiljeva and Anna Prysazhnuka were runners-up in the 2016 Ladies European ...
and 4–3 against
Emma Bonney
Emma Bonney is an English world champion player of English billiards, and snooker player. She has won the women's world billiards title a record thirteen times.
Emma Bonney is the only player to be ranked number 1 in the world at both snooker ...
to reach the final. Ng also reached the semi-finals of the IBSF World Championship, losing 1–4 to
Wendy Jans
Wendy Jans (born 14 June 1983, in Bree, Belgium) is a Belgian professional snooker and pool player. She has won the IBSF World Snooker Championship for women seven times. She reached her first women's world final at the 2022 World Women's Snooke ...
.
2015: Ladies' World Champion
In February 2015, Ng lost 1–5 to Reanne Evans in the final of the Eden Resources Masters tournament.
At the 2015 World Ladies Snooker Championship held in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, England, Ng topped her qualifying group. Three frames were played in each match; Ng won 3–0 wins over Annette Newman, Gaye Jones and Michelle Brown, and had a 2–1 win over
Yana Shut
Yana Shut (born 29 July 1997 in Minsk, Belarus) is a Belarusian snooker and pool player. She is the first IBSF Under-18 World Snooker Champion and also WLBSA World Snooker Mixed Doubles Champion. In 2018 she became European Champion in 10-Ball ...
. In the last 16, she defeated Anastasia Tumilovich 3–0, and in the quarter-finals bested Emma Cunningham 4–0. In the semi-finals, she faced Reanne Evans, winner of the title in each of the previous ten years. Ng took the first frame 63–51, scoring a break of 44, but then lost the next two frames. A of 33 saw Ng take the fourth frame 53–43 to equalize at 2–2. She then took the lead by winning the fifth frame 84–0 with breaks of 25 and 55. In a close sixth frame, Ng cleared the last four colours to win the frame 51–47 and the match 4–2, ending Evans' decade-long reign as champion. Emma Bonney won the first two frames of the final, winning them 59–22 and 68–38. Ng won the scrappy, 47-minute third frame 45–11. The highest break in the fifth frame, which took 46 minutes and 58 seconds, was eight (red, pink, red from Bonney), with Ng taking it 72–20. Ng then made five breaks in the twenties and won the next three frames to become the first new world ladies' champion since Reanne Evans won the first of her ten consecutive titles.
On 11 August 2015, Ng defeated India's
Vidya Pillai
Vidya Viswanathan Pillai (born 26 November 1977) is an Indian professional snooker player. Vidya Pillai grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In recognition of her achievements, the Government of Karnataka bestowed her with the Ekalavya award in 2016 ...
5–2 in the World Ladies Championship final in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, Pakistan, to claim her second IBSF World Six-red women's title. Ng emerged from the qualifying groups in fourth place overall and defeated
Arantxa Sanchis
Arantxa Sanchis is a female professional English billiards and snooker player from India. She won a gold medal in the Women's Team event at the inaugural International Billiards and Snooker Federa ...
4–0 and
Amee Kamani
Amee Kamani (born 3 June 1992) is an Indian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 2016 International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker championship, losing 0–5 in the final to the defending champion Wendy Jans. Kamani was th ...
4–1 to reach the final.
2016: World Championship runner-up
Ng reached the final of the 2016 Eden Classic, defeating fellow Hong Kong players
Katrina Wan
Katrina Wan Ka Kai (; born 8 March 1988) is a snooker player from Hong Kong. She was runner-up in the 2018 Australian Women's Open.
Biography
Wan started playing on the women's snooker circuit in 2013. She reached her highest ranking to date ...
3–2 and
Jaique Ip
Jaique Ip Wan-in MH (; born 15 January 1980) is a Hong Kong amateur snooker player.
Biography
Ip won the silver medal at the 2006 IBSF World Championships in Amman, Jordan, after she lost 5–0 in the final against Wendy Jans.
4–1 after qualifying for the knockout stages but Ng lost 1–4 to Reanne Evans in the final. Ng and her playing partner Katrina Wan Ka Kai won the 2016 World Women's Snooker pairs title by defeating
Maria Catalano
Maria Catalano (born 27 February 1982) is an English snooker player.
Career
In the 2007 season she won the British Open and the Connie Gough National Championship. In December 2002, she was ranked number four in the world. She was ranked worl ...
and Tatjana Vasiljeva 4–1 in the final.
At the 2016 World Ladies Snooker Championship, the top-eight seeds, including defending champion Ng, were placed in the knockout and each faced a qualifier. Ng progressed to the final without losing a frame, besting Laura Evans 3–0, Katrina Wan 4–0, and
Rebecca Kenna
Rebecca Kenna (' Granger; born 11 January 1989) is an English professional snooker player from Keighley. She competes on the World Women's Snooker Tour, through which she also earned a tour card for the professional World Snooker Tour. She was run ...
4–0. In the final, Reanne Evans took the first frame but Ng won three in a row to go two frames ahead. Evans won the next two frames to equalize at 3–3. Ng then took the seventh frame to lead 4–3. Evans then won three consecutive frames to take the match 6–4 and win the title.
Ng was granted a wild card for the 2016 World Snooker Championship as the Women's World Champion, and became the first Asian woman to play in the
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...
, losing 1–10 to
Peter Lines
Peter Lines (born 11 December 1969) is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father ...
in her first match. With Katrina Wan, Ng won the IBSF World Six-reds snooker team tournament in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, with a 4–3 victory over
Vidya Pillai
Vidya Viswanathan Pillai (born 26 November 1977) is an Indian professional snooker player. Vidya Pillai grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In recognition of her achievements, the Government of Karnataka bestowed her with the Ekalavya award in 2016 ...
and
Amee Kamani
Amee Kamani (born 3 June 1992) is an Indian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 2016 International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker championship, losing 0–5 in the final to the defending champion Wendy Jans. Kamani was th ...
of India in the final. Fifteen minutes after the conclusion of the team final, Ng played Pillai in a quarter-final match of the singles and lost 2–4.
Ng won the inaugural
Paul Hunter
Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...
Classic, which was held in
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
, Germany. After winning all three matches in her qualifying group 3–0, Ng won the deciding frame 4–3 against Irina Gorbataya in the last 16, having trailed 1–3. She progressed through the quarter-finals and semi-finals without losing a frame in either round. Ng won 4–0 over Wendy Jans, during the third frame of which she made the tournament's highest break, a 104. She then defeated Maria Catalano, also 4–0. In the final, Ng took a 2–0 lead against Reanne Evans, who won the third frame. Ng won the next two frames, both of which were closely contested, to win the final 4–1.
At the first Asian Billiard Sports Championships, which was held in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates, Ng defeated Arantxa Sanchis 5–1 in the semi-finals and Vidya Pillai 5–1 in the final to gain the title. Ng lost 3–4 to Reanne Evans in the semi-finals of the UK Championship in November, and 1–4 to Wendy Jans in the quarter-final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship later the same month.
2017: Regains World Championship
In 2017, Ng supported the Hong Kong Women's Foundation campaign ''#MyRealCareerLine'', which was set up to tackle sexism and gender inequality at work. She appeared in a YouTube video for the campaign in March 2017.
The 2017 World Women's Snooker Championship was held in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, marking the first time in over 20 years the tournament had taken place outside the United Kingdom. The group stage matches were contested as best-of five , with all dead frames being played. Ng topped her qualifying group by winning all three of her matches: 4–1 against both Charlene Chai and Chitra Magimairaj, and a 5–0 win against Ronda Sheldreck. In the knockout stage, Ng defeated Pui Ying Mini Chu 4–0 in the last 16 and
Waratthanun Sukritthanes
Waratthanun Sukritthanes (; born 5 December 1993) is a snooker player from Thailand. She was the 2018 IBSF World Snooker Championship Women's Champion, and was the runner-up in 2017.
Biography
Sukritthanes reached the 2017 IBSF World Snooker C ...
4–3 in the quarter-finals. She then faced defending champion Reanne Evans in the semi-finals, where she won 5–4 after recovering from a 60-points deficit in the deciding frame.
Ng's opponent in the final was
Vidya Pillai
Vidya Viswanathan Pillai (born 26 November 1977) is an Indian professional snooker player. Vidya Pillai grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In recognition of her achievements, the Government of Karnataka bestowed her with the Ekalavya award in 2016 ...
, the first Indian player to reach the final of the Women's World Championship, and it was the first women's world championship final with two Asian players. Ng won the first two frames of the match before losing the next four. At 2–4 down, she won three consecutive frames for a 5–4 lead before Pillai took the tenth to force a deciding frame that lasted for over an hour. With only the pink and black balls remaining on the table, and the pink lying close to the black which was itself adjacent to one of the corner , Ng fouled and left a
free ball
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each (so ...
. Pillai, who was four points behind, the black but and hit the pink instead, also the black. Ng then potted the pink ball to take the frame 66–50, gaining her second world title.
With a playing time of eight hours and four minutes, the final was the longest 11-frame competitive match in snooker history, significantly exceeding the previous record of 7 hours and 14 minutes that was set at the 1992 UK Snooker Championship. Finishing at 1:30 am local time, it was the first time since 1989 the final of the Women's World Championship had ended in a deciding frame. Because the final took place on the same day as the semi-finals, Ng played for more than 12 hours across the two matches in a single day. Her prize money was £5,000, more than four times the amount awarded to the previous year's winner.
Ng was one of only two women competitors in the mixed singles snooker at the 2017 World Games, held in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, Poland. Ng lost in the deciding frame of her first match 2–3 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 ...
. Ng was seeded into the last 16 at the 2017 Paul Hunter Women's Classic in
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
, Germany; she reached the semi-finals without losing a frame, defeating both Inese Lukashevska and Diana Stateczny 4–0. She then narrowly defeated So Man Yan 4–3 to reach the final, where she lost 1–4 to Reanne Evans, having won only the third frame.
2018: Earns top ranking and retains World Championship
On reaching the quarter-finals of the WLBSA British Open in
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
, England, in February 2018, Ng became the first Asian player to top the women's rankings. She progressed to the semi-finals, where she lost 2–4 to
Nutcharut Wongharuthai
Nutcharut Wongharuthai (, ; born 7 November 1999), better known as Mink Nutcharut, is a Thai professional snooker player who is the reigning World Women's Snooker Champion. She and Neil Robertson are also the reigning World Mixed Doubles champio ...
.
Ng successfully defended her world championship title, without conceding a frame, at the 2018 tournament held at St. Paul's Bay, Malta. She had started with low expectations for her performance at the event because she felt unwell and under pressure, and was suffering from loss of form. Ng emerged from the qualifying stage with 3–0 wins over Judy Dangerfield, Katarzyna Bialik, and Ronda Sheldreck, and was seeded into the quarter-finals, where she defeated Wendy Jans 4–0. She then defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–0 in her semi-final, winning a place in the final with Maria Catalano, who had defeated Reanne Evans 4–3 in the other semi-final. Ng won 5–0 to gain her third world title.
Ng was runner-up in the World Women's 10-Red Championship and the World Women's Six-red Championship, which were both held in Leeds, England, in April 2018. Ng lost in the final of both tournaments to Reanne Evans. She then entered Q School in May 2018 in an attempt to win a place on the professional snooker tour. Ng took the 2018 LITEtask UK Women's Championship title in September, defeating
Suzie Opacic
Suzie Terry (formerly Suzie Opacic) is an English snooker player. She won the 2006 World Ladies Junior Championship and is an active player on the women's professional snooker circuit, who has reached the semi-finals of several ranking tourname ...
3–2, Ploychompoo Laokiatphong 3–0, and Jaique Ip 4–0. In the final, she defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–1 after losing the first frame.
At the Australian Open, Ng scored a 139 break in the third frame of her semi-final against Nutcharut Wongharuthai; her then-highest break in competition. Having won all of her five qualifying matches 4–0 against Australian opponents, Ng defeated another Australian, Judy Dangerfield, 3–0 in the last 16, Pui Ying Mini Chu 4–0 in the quarter-finals, and Wongharuthai 4–2 in the semi-finals. Ng won the final, defeating Katrina Wan 4–2.
At the IBSF Six-red Women's Snooker Championship in
Marsa Alam
Marsa Alam ( ar, مرسى علم ' , Classical Arabic ) is a town in south-eastern Egypt, located on the western shore of the Red Sea. It is currently seeing fast increasing popularity as a tourist destination and development following the openi ...
, Ng was the only player in the women's qualifying groups who did not lose a frame. In the knockout phase, she defeated Thai players Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 4–2 and Nutcharat Wongharuthai 4–1, before losing the final to another Thai player, Waratthanun Sukritthanes, 2–4.
2019: Third IBSF world title
Ng reached the final of the 2019 Belgian Women's Open with wins of 3–0 over Jane O'Neill and
Emma Parker
Emma Parker (pseud. "Emma De Lisle"; '' fl'' 1809–1817) was an Anglo-Welsh novelist of whom very little is known, although her work was generally well-reviewed during her lifetime. Her epistolary novel ''Self-Deception'' explores the cultura ...
, and of 4–3 over
Nutcharut Wongharuthai
Nutcharut Wongharuthai (, ; born 7 November 1999), better known as Mink Nutcharut, is a Thai professional snooker player who is the reigning World Women's Snooker Champion. She and Neil Robertson are also the reigning World Mixed Doubles champio ...
in the semi-finals. She won the first frame of the final against
Reanne Evans
Reanne Evans (born 25 October 1985) is an English professional snooker player who competes on the World Women's Snooker Tour and the professional World Snooker Tour. She is the number one ranked player on the women's tour, and regularly featur ...
, but lost the next four to finish as runner-up. She also lost to Evans in the final of the World Women's 10-Red Championship in Leeds, this time 3–4.
Ng lost in the quarter-finals of the Six-red Championship to Wongharuthai, 2–3. She was also defeated by Wongharuthai 4–1 at the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 World Women's Snooker Championship, making 2019 the first year since 2012 that Ng had not reached at least the semi-finals of the tournament. Consequently, she lost the number one position that she had held for 14 months, as Reanne Evans regained the top ranking.
In April 2019, Ng played
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
in the first round of qualifying at the
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...
– after winning the first two frames, she eventually lost the match 6–10. She was runner-up in the 2019 Women's Tour Championship, held at the
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...
, defeating
Rebecca Kenna
Rebecca Kenna (' Granger; born 11 January 1989) is an English professional snooker player from Keighley. She competes on the World Women's Snooker Tour, through which she also earned a tour card for the professional World Snooker Tour. She was run ...
2–0 in the semi-finals before losing the one-frame final to Reanne Evans.
At the Australian Women's Open in 2019, Ng and Nutcharut Wongharuthai were the only two players to complete their qualifying groups without losing a frame. Ng then registered wins over Tani Mina 3–0, Jessica Woods 3–1, and So Man Yan 4–1, to reach the final against Wongharuthai, who won the match 4–2 to gain her first ranking tournament win.
Ng won her third IBSF world snooker title in
in November 2019. She dedicated her victory to Poon Ching-chiu, a fellow snooker player who had died at the age of 18 during the fortnight before the final. Ng finished top of the qualifying round, winning all four of her matches 2–0, before defeating Joy Lyn Willenberg 3–0 in the last 16, and
Amee Kamani
Amee Kamani (born 3 June 1992) is an Indian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 2016 International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker championship, losing 0–5 in the final to the defending champion Wendy Jans. Kamani was th ...
4–1 in the quarter-finals. Her semi-final against Waratthanun Sukritthanes was taken to a deciding frame, but with breaks of 34 and 40, Ng won the last frame 85–0 and the match 4–3. She then played Wongharuthai in the final where, after trailing 0–2, she took five consecutive frames to win the match 5–2.
2020: Belgian Open Champion
Ng won the 2020 Belgian Women's Open, which was her first ranking tournament victory since the 2018 Australian Open. She was seeded directly into the last-16 round, where she defeated both Albina Liashcuk and Steph Daughtery 3–0. She then bested Wongharuthai 4–2 in the semi-finals. In the final she was 2–1 ahead of Reanne Evans after losing the first frame. From 2–2, Ng won the next two frames to take the title with a 4–2 win.
Ng was given a
wildcard
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
place for the qualifying rounds of the 2020 World Snooker Championship. The final stages of the tournament were due to take place in April and May 2020 but were postponed due to the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
. She declined to participate in the tournament due to COVID-19 safety concerns. With World Women's Snooker events cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, Ng's next competitive appearance was at the 2020 Hong Kong Women's Snooker Open Championship, nine months after the Belgian Open. She won the title with a 4–0 defeat of Cheung Yee Ting in the final.
In March 2021, it was announced that Ng would be offered a two-year World Snooker tour-card, to commence in the 2021–22 snooker season.
2021–2022
On the World Women's Snooker circuit for 2021–2022, there were five ranking events. Ng won the Eden Women's Masters, winning the deciding frame of her semi-final against Kenna after needing three snookers, and recovering from 1-3 against Evans in the final to win 4-3. She took the season's last ranking title, the Winchester Open, by defeating Wongharuthai 4–0 in the final.
Ng achieved her first win on the World Snooker tour by eliminating
Wu Yize
Wu Yize (; born 14 October 2003) is a Chinese professional snooker player.
Career
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.
Wu ...
Ali Carter
Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...
in the next round.
Honours and awards
The Hong Kong government awarded Ng the Medal of Honour in 2011 for "outstanding achievements in international snooker competitions." She received a
Bronze Bauhinia Star
The Bronze Bauhinia Star (, BBS) is the lowest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star in Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of C ...
in 2017, this being the lowest of the three ranks of The Order of the Bauhinia Star, a set of awards made by the government of Hong Kong to "persons who have rendered distinguished service to the community or to their respective fields of business for a long period of time".
In March 2016, Ng was named "Best of the Best" at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. She won the award again in 2018, in recognition of her achievements in 2017. Ng was named the
International World Games Association
The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...