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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Si Jiahui
Si Jiahui (Chinese: 斯佳辉 sí-tɕjá-xwéɪ; born 11 July 2002) is a Chinese professional snooker player. After training at the Wiraka Billiard Academy in Foshan, he moved to the United Kingdom aged 16 and earned a two-year tour card through the 2019 Q School for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. He lost his tour card after ending the 2020–21 season outside the top 64 in the world rankings, and competed as an amateur during the 2021–22 season, during which he defeated Shaun Murphy 6–5 in the first round of the 2021 UK Championship. After rejoining the professional tour at the start of the 2022–23 season, he reached his first ranking quarter-final at the 2022 European Masters.

At the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Si won three qualifying matches to reach the tournament's final stages at the Crucible Theatre for the first time. He then defeated Murphy, Robert Milkins, and Anthony McGill as he progressed to the semi-finals, becoming the first Crucible debutant to reach the last four since Andy Hicks in 1995. Although he led 14–5 in the semi-final, he lost 15–17 to the eventual winner Luca Brecel; this nine-frame deficit was the largest lead overturned in the history of the World Championship. He advanced from 80th to 36th in the world rankings after the tournament. Si reached the first ranking final of his career at the following season's 2024 German Masters, but lost 5–10 to Judd Trump.

Si achieved his first maximum break in professional competition in his 6–2 win against Judd Trump in the semi-final of the 2024 Wuhan Open. In his second ranking final, Si lost against Xiao Guodong.

Early life

Born on 11 July 2002, in the Dongbaihu [zh] district of Zhuji, in Zhejiang, Si resided with his parents in Hangzhou. He competed in table tennis tournaments as a child, winning second place in a school tournament and competing in other tournaments in the city. He became interested in cue sports after his father opened a pool club dedicated to Chinese eight-ball. Si showed talent at the sport, and his father pressured him to excel at it. By age 10, Si was practising for 13 hours a day under the supervision of his father and beating all other players at the club.

Si entered a nine-ball tournament in Shanghai for elementary school students, where he was runner-up. At the tournament, his father met another father whose son was training at a snooker academy in Guangdong. In September 2013, aged 11, Si left school and moved to Guangdong, accompanied by his father, where he began playing snooker. At age 12, he began training at the Wiraka Billiard Academy in Foshan, where he was coached by Roger Leighton. At 14, he defeated former world number one Ding Junhui 3–2 in a national tournament.

At age 16, Si moved to the United Kingdom. He joined Victoria’s Snooker Academy in Sheffield, a stable of mostly Chinese players managed by former snooker journalist Victoria Shi. Other players at the Academy upon Si's arrival included Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, and Fan Zhengyi.

Career

Si received a two-year professional tour card through the 2019 Q School for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. However, he was relegated from the World Snooker Tour after finishing the 2020–21 season 92nd in the snooker world rankings, below the cut-off at 64th position.

Si spent the 2021–22 season competing as an amateur, but earned top-up places in ranking tournaments through his high placement in the 2021 Q School Order of Merit. At the 2021 UK Championship, he defeated former world champion Shaun Murphy 6–5 in the first round. In a BBC radio interview after the match, Murphy objected to amateur players featuring in professional events, saying that he had "lost to someone who shouldn’t even be in the building". The World Snooker Tour issued a statement disagreeing with these remarks, and Murphy subsequently apologised for "taking the shine off" Si's win.

Towards the end of the season, Si won the 2022 World Snooker Federation Open amateur event, defeating Lee Stephens 5–0 in the final. This win earned him a two-year professional tour card for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons. At the 2022 European Masters, he defeated Anthony McGill and Daniel Wells to reach his first quarter-final at a ranking event, which he lost 2–5 to Kyren Wilson.

Ranked 80th in the world rankings, he qualified for the main stage of the 2023 World Snooker Championship after defeating Florian Nüßle 10–7, Tom Ford 10–5, and Jordan Brown 10–7 in the qualifying rounds. In the first round at the Crucible Theatre, Si defeated Murphy 10–9. On this occasion, Murphy commented on how well Si had played, saying he had been "fabulous". Si defeated Robert Milkins 13–7 in the second round and McGill 13–12 in the quarter-finals, becoming the first Crucible debutant to reach the World Championship semi-finals since Andy Hicks in 1995 and the youngest player to do so since Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1996. Si lost 15–17 to Luca Brecel in the semi-finals after Brecel, from 5–14 down, won 12 of the last 13 frames. Si advanced from 80th to 36th in the world rankings as a result of his performance at the tournament.

Si reached the first ranking final of his career at the following season's 2024 German Masters, but lost 5–10 to Judd Trump.

Personal life

Si lives in Sheffield during the snooker season. He did not see his family or his girlfriend during the COVID-19 pandemic; after the 2023 Welsh Open, he visited China for the first time in three years. During the 2020–21 season, he dyed his hair blue.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23 		2023/
24 		2024/
25
Ranking 77 34 20
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event RR RR RR 2R 2R
Xi'an Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 2R
Saudi Arabia Masters Tournament Not Held SF
English Open A A A 4R 1R LQ LQ 2R 3R
British Open Tournament Not Held 1R LQ 2R 1R
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held 2R F
Northern Ireland Open A A A 3R 1R LQ 1R LQ 1R
International Championship A A A LQ Not Held 1R 2R
UK Championship A A A 1R 1R 2R LQ LQ 1R
Shoot Out A A A 1R WD 1R 1R QF 3R
Scottish Open A A A 2R 1R 1R LQ 2R 2R
German Masters A A A LQ LQ LQ 1R F
Welsh Open A A A 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R
World Open A A A LQ Not Held 1R LQ
World Grand Prix DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Players Championship DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Tour Championship Not Held A DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship A A A LQ LQ LQ SF 2R
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Ranking Event A A Not Held 1R QF
The Masters A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Riga Masters A A A LQ Tournament Not Held
China Championship NR A A LQ Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held 3R Not Held
Gibraltar Open A A A 1R 2R WD Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 3R Not Held
European Masters A A A LQ 1R LQ QF 2R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Six-red World Championship A A A A Not Held LQ Not Held
Haining Open 1R 1R 3R 3R NH A NH A NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-ranking event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-ranking event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ^ He was an amateur
  2. ^ new players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

Career finals

Ranking finals: 2

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2024 German Masters England Judd Trump 5–10
Runner-up 2. 2024 Wuhan Open China Xiao Guodong 7–10

Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2021 Q Tour – Event 1 England David Lilley 1–5
Winner 1. 2021 Q Tour – Event 2 Wales Michael White 5–4
Winner 2. 2022 WSF Open England Lee Stephens 5–0

References

  1. ^ "Historic Seedings 2024/2025 After English 2024". snooker.org. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Si fires in maiden maximum". World Snooker Tour. 11 October 2024. Archived from the original on 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Results: Optics Valley of China Wuhan Open". snooker.org. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "浙江世界斯诺克职业第一人、00后小将斯佳辉——梦想站上更高舞台" [No. 1 professional snooker player from Zhejiang and post-2000 youngster, Si Jiahui—dreams to stand on a higher stage]. news.hangzhou.com.cn. 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Si Jiahui: How bad-tempered child prodigy became snooker's serene sensation". The Independent. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ Haigh, Phil (15 March 2022). "The secrets of success at Victoria's Academy - snooker's champion factory". Metro. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Q School Order of Merit". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  8. ^ Huart, Matt (12 April 2021). "World Championship 2021: Tour Survival Blog". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  9. ^ "'It is not fair': Murphy rails at amateurs in pro snooker … after defeat by amateur". The Guardian. 24 November 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  10. ^ "World Snooker rejects Shaun Murphy's amateur complaints". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Murphy apologises for 'taking shine' off Si Jiahui's victory". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Si Beats Stephens in WSF Open Final". World Snooker Tour. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Rapid Williams into Semis". 19 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. ^ "2023 Cazoo World Championship Qualifiers". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 28 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Si Jiahui returns to haunt Shaun Murphy in Crucible final-frame upset". The Guardian. 20 April 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Si sees off Milkins to reach Crucible last eight". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Si Jiahui continues stunning run, reaches snooker World Championship semis". 27 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Brecel to face Si in semis after stunning O'Sullivan". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Luca Brecel recovers from 14-5 down to win 17-15 and reach Crucible final". 29 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Brecel stages greatest Crucible comeback to beat Si". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Stunning Si Reaches Final". World Snooker Tour. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  22. ^ "German Masters final: Judd Trump beats Si Jiahui to win record third title". BBC Sport. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Five Facts About Si Jiahui". World Snooker. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  24. ^ "Ranking History". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
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