Yuan Sijun (Chinese: 袁思俊; born 29 May 2000) 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.

Career

Yuan started to play snooker at the age of 10 and played as a wildcard in many professional tournaments between ages of 13 and 16. Yuan first drew attention in 2016 when, at the age of 15, he defeated world number 13

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 prof ...

in a 5–0

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

in the opening round of the 2016 China Open before losing 2–5 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 ...

. Remarkably, when he again faced

in the

2016 Shanghai Masters The 2016 Bank of Communications OTO Shanghai Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 and 25 September 2016 at the Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai, China. It was the fifth ranking event of the 2016/2017 ...

in October 2016, he produced the same result, a 5–0 win. In 2015, Yuan entered the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship The ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional junior snooker tournament in Asia. The event series is sanctioned by the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports and started from 1993. In most of the seasons, the winner ...

where he reached the final, but lost eventually to

Akani Songsermsawad Akani Songsermsawad (; born 10 September 1995), better known as Sunny Akani, is a Thai former professional snooker player. Career Early career Akani, a regular in amateur Thai snooker events since 2011, first came to international attention with ...

. Two years later, Yuan once again made it to the final, where he defeated

Fan Zhengyi Fan Zhengyi (, born 27 January 2001) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship in 2017, and turned professional in 2018. He had a breakthrough season in 2021–22 when he reached his first ra ...

6–2 to win the Asian Under-21 Championship; as a result, he was given a two-year card on the professional

World Snooker Tour The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial ar ...

for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. Yuan began the 2017–18 as the youngest player on the professional tour.

2017/2018 season

Yuan's first match as a professional was a narrow loss to

Oliver Lines Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snook ...

in the 2017 Riga Masters qualifiers on 31 May 2017, two days after his 17th birthday. His first win was a 4–2 defeat of Allan Taylor in the European Masters qualifiers. Yuan's best wins were 4–1 against Joe Perry in 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 two centuries), and 5–4 against

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Snooker Championship, 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight Cue stick, cue action and his lo ...

in the Shanghai Masters. In the World Championship, he beat

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000� ...

10–5, before losing 10–9 to

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 c ...

, despite leading 9-7 and missing several chances to win. In total Yuan managed only 8 wins in his first season, and ended the season ranked 92.

2018/2019 season

With wins over

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 ...

Alexander Ursenbacher Alexander Ursenbacher (born 26 April 1996) is a Swiss professional snooker player from Rheinfelden. He is Switzerland's first professional snooker player (former professional Darren Paris represented England, in the mid-1990s, before moving to S ...

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 (2005 ...

and Mark King, Yuan reached his first quarter-final at the China Championship, before losing to World No.1

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 ...

. For the next few months, he progressed steadily, beating the likes of

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

and

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

. In 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 ...

, he beat 4-time World Champion

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 ( ...

5–4 on the final black, somewhat controversially as the cue-ball appeared to touch the rest (a foul stroke) after the players had shaken hands. Yuan's solid results in the first half of the 2018/19 season lifted him into the top-32 on the 1-year rankings, thus qualifying for the World Grand Prix in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

. He beat World Champion Mark Williams 4-3 and

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 i ...

4–2 to reach his second quarter-final, losing to flatmate

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

5–4. Just shy of his 19th birthday, Yuan made remarkable progress in the 2018/19 season. He attracted praise from commentators

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

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, ...

and

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 ...

, who described him as 'one of the best youngsters since the likes of Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, or John Higgins'.

2019/2020 season

In the

International Championship The International Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. The reigning champion is Judd Trump. History The event was introduced in the 2012/2013 season. It was named as the "first overseas 'major'", because the tournament ha ...

Yuan suffered an agonising loss on the final black to

6–5, despite making 8 breaks over 50. This contributed to a loss of form, reaching the last 16 only once, in the Northern Ireland Open. With the arrival of COVID-19, the snooker season was suspended. Yuan Sijun returned to

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

, but was unable to play snooker due to lockdown restrictions. He did not return for the rescheduled

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, ...

2020/2021 season

Yuan Sijun returned from China after the COVID-19 suspension in September 2020, having not picked up a cue for 6 months. This contributed to a poor season. Yuan's most notable achievement was reaching the third round of the Northern Ireland Open, beating close friend

Luo Honghao Luo Honghao (; born 31 January 2000) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career Amateur In July 2017, he reached the final of 2017 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship where he lost the final 7–6 to Fan Zhengyi. Later i ...

and

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 directe ...

before eventually losing 4–0 to

. In the

he lost his first match by 6–5 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 ...

, missing a simple pink in the final frame. This loss meant that he was relegated from the tour.

2021/2022 season

Yuan Sijun entered Q School to try to regain his tour card. He was successful in

Event 1 Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, beating

Mitchell Mann Mitchell Mann (born 26 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player. Career Junior Mann first played snooker aged 9, after being forced to quit football after a diagnosis of Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome, a rare disease which r ...

4–2 in the final match. Yuan's best result of 2021-22 was a 3rd round appearance in the European Masters, beating

Stuart Carrington Stuart Carrington (born 14 May 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Steven Hallworth and Ian Glover in Grimsby. In May 2011, Carrington qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of fou ...

and

, before losing to

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

. He also scored wins over Matt Selt,

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 Championsh ...

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 ...

. At the

, he reached the final qualifying round for the first time, with 6-3 wins over Ross Muir and

Steven Hallworth Steven Hallworth (born 1 December 1995) is an English former professional snooker player. He is the only ever qualified professional from Lincoln. He is a practice partner of Stuart Carrington. Career Junior Hallworth started playing snooke ...

, a 6–1 win over Ryan Day, before losing 10–7 to

Liam Highfield Liam Highfield (born 1 December 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2010 after finishing second in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He plays left-handed. Career Amateur years In the 2007/2008 season, Highfie ...

. Yuan finished the season ranked 68. Along with several other Chinese players, Yuan did not return to China during the summer break.

2022/2023 season

The first tournament of the 2022–23 season was the Summer Championship League. Yuan Sijun won his first round group, 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 ...

and

Lei Peifan Lei Peifan (; born 31 May 2003) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career In May 2019, Lei came through Q School on the overall Order of Merit to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 ...

, without losing a frame. In the second round group, he continued this run by beating World Champion

3–0. But 2-2 draws against

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 ...

and

Pang Junxu Pang Junxu (, born 15 February 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" Award in 2021. Career As a result of Pang's performances on the CBSA Tour, he was awarded a two-year card on the World Snook ...

meant he finished 2nd in the group.

Personal life

At the start of the 2018/2019 season, Yuan Sijun moved to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

and is based at the Q House Academy, managed by Chusak Phetmalaikul. In 2020, he moved to the newly opened Ding Junhui Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

References

External links

Yuan Sijun
at ''worldsnooker.com''
Yuan Sijun
at ''CueTracker.net: Snooker Results and Statistic Database'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan, Sijun Chinese snooker players Living people 2000 births People from Nanchang Sportspeople from Jiangxi 21st-century Chinese people