Wu Yize (Chinese: 吴宜泽; pinyin: Wú Yízé; born 14 October 2003) is a Chinese professional snooker player. In May 2022 he was named the World Snooker Tour’s ‘Rookie of the Year’. He won his first ranking title and the first professional title of his career in winning the 2025 International Championship, defeating John Higgins 10–6 in the final. He made 14 century breaks during the tournament. This win moved him into the top 16 for the first time in his career.

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.

He was given a wildcard entry to the 2019 International Championship in Daqing, where he lost 5–6 to John Higgins. He made the last 32 of the 2019 Six-red World Championship in Bangkok, after progressing through the group stage. He again faced Higgins, this time losing 4–6. At the 2019 World Open in Yushan, he faced Luca Brecel, losing 2–5 but making breaks of 85 and 130.

2021-22: Turning professional and 'rookie of the year'

As a result of his performances on the 2021 CBSA China Tour, Wu was awarded a tour card for the 2021–22 and 2022–23 snooker seasons. In May 2022, at the end of his debut season, he was given the World Snooker Tour's 'Rookie of that Year' award following three last-32 ranking event appearances.

At the 2022 European Masters in August 2022, he defeated Luca Brecel, Rory McLeod and Ryan Day in a run through to the quarter-finals that was ended by Ali Carter. A relatively quiet season ensued, but during qualifying for the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Wu defeated Allan Taylor and compatriot Tian Pengfei, before facing the 2023 Snooker Shoot-Out champion Chris Wakelin. He came back from 1–5 and 4–7 down to beat Wakelin 10–8 in the final qualifying round to reach the televised stages, held at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, for the first time. In October 2023, he reached the semi-final of the 2023 Wuhan Open.

On 18 June 2024, he topped his round robin group at the Championship League in Leicester. he reached the last-32 at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where he lost to Judd Trump on a deciding frame despite having a 4-0 lead. At the 2024 English Open in Brentwood in September 2024 he reached his first ranking final with wins over Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter. In the final, he faced Neil Robertson and recovered from a 7-1 deficit to pull back to 8-7 before ultimately losing 9-7. The following month he reached the last-16 of the Wuhan Open.

In December 2024, he reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out. The following week, he reached the final of the 2024 Scottish Open. He concluded the 2024-25 season by qualifying for the 2025 World Snooker Championship with a 10-9 victory over Matthew Stevens in the final round of qualification. In the first round at The Crucible, he was defeated 10-8 by Mark Williams.

2025: Maiden ranking tournament victory; entry into the top-16

He topped his round-robin group at the 2025 Championship League in July 2025, going unbeaten against Craig Steadman, Wang Yuchen and Kreishh Gurbaxani. In September 2025, he reached the last-16 of the English Open before losing to Mark Selby.

In the last-16 of the 2025 International Championship in November 2025, he came from 0-4 down to defeat Judd Trump 6-4 before whitewashing Barry Hawkins 6-0 and reached his third ranking final with a 9-6 win over world champion Zhao Xintong. He won his first ranking title beating John Higgins 10–6 in the final. He made fourteen century breaks during the tournament. This win moved him into the top 16 for the first time in his career. On 11 December, he compiled a 141 century break to beat Craig Steadman at the 2025 Snooker Shoot Out.

2026: Masters semi-finalist

With his ranking up to 13, he made his debut at the Masters in January 2026, and defeated defending champion Shaun Murphy 6-2 in the first round, before reaching the semi-finals with a 6-0 win over compatriot Xiao Guodong. In the semi-final he lost a deciding frame against Kyren Wilson, who won 6-5.

On 21 January, at the 2026 Championship League in Leicester, Wu scored the first 147 maximum of his career in a 3-1 win over Oliver Lines. He went on to reach the final at the event, losing to Mark Selby who the title for the third consecutive year. In February, he reached the semi-final at the 2026 Welsh Open, as he came back from 4–1 behind to win 5-4 against Jiang Jun.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament2017/ 182018/ 192019/ 202021/ 222022/ 232023/ 242024/ 252025/ 26
Ranking69493920
Ranking tournaments
Championship LeagueNon-Ranking EventARRRR2R2R
Saudi Arabia MastersTournament Not Held5R5R
Wuhan OpenTournament Not HeldSF3RLQ
English OpenAAA1R2R1RF3R
British OpenNot Held2RLQ1R1R1R
Xi'an Grand PrixTournament Not HeldLQ2R
Northern Ireland OpenAAALQLQLQ1R2R
International ChampionshipAALQNot HeldLQ2RW
UK ChampionshipAAA3RLQLQ2R2R
Shoot OutAAAA1R1RSF2R
Scottish OpenAAA1RLQLQF3R
German MastersAAALQLQLQQFWD
World Grand PrixDid Not Qualify1R2RQF
Players ChampionshipDid Not Qualify1R1R
Welsh OpenAAALQ1R1R2RSF
World OpenAALQNot Held2R2RSF
Tour ChampionshipNHDid Not Qualify1R1R
World ChampionshipAALQLQ1RLQ1R
Non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai MastersRA1RNot HeldAA1R
The MastersDid Not QualifySF
Championship LeagueDid Not ParticipateF
Former ranking tournaments
China OpenALQTournament Not Held
China ChampionshipAALQTournament Not Held
Turkish MastersNot Held2RTournament Not Held
Gibraltar OpenAAAWDTournament Not Held
WST ClassicTournament Not Held2RNot Held
European MastersAAA2RQF2RNot Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Six-red World ChampionshipAA2RNHLQNot Held
Haining Open3R1R2RAFNot Held
Performance Table Legend
LQlost in the qualifying draw#Rlost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)QFlost in the quarter-finals
SFlost in the semi-finalsFlost in the finalWwon the tournament
DNQdid not qualify for the tournamentAdid not participate in the tournamentWDwithdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.2024English OpenAustralia Neil Robertson7–9
Runner-up2.2024Scottish OpenChina Lei Peifan5–9
Winner1.2025International ChampionshipScotland John Higgins10–6

Non-ranking finals: 2

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.2023Haining OpenChina Yuan Sijun1–5
Runner-up2.2026Championship League InvitationalEngland Mark Selby1–3

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Winner1.2018IBSF World Under-21 ChampionshipThailand Pongsak Chongjairak6–4

External links