Jump to content

Liang Wenbo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AmethystZhou (talk | contribs) at 13:30, 22 October 2023. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liang (梁).
Liang Wenbo
Liang at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1987-03-05) 5 March 1987 (age 37)
Zhaodong, Heilongjiang, China
Sport country China
NicknameThe Firecracker[1]
Professional2005–2023
Highest ranking11 (October, December 2016, May 2017)[2][3][4]
Current ranking (as of 11 November 2024)
Maximum breaks3
Century breaks292
Tournament wins
Ranking1
Minor-ranking1
Medal record
Representing  China
Men's snooker
World Games
Silver medal – second place 2013 Cali Singles
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Singles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Asian Indoor Games
Silver medal – second place 2009 Ho Chi Minh City Six-red singles
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Incheon Team
Liang Wenbo
Chinese梁文博
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiáng Wénbó
Wade–GilesLiang2 Wên2po2
IPA[ljǎŋ wə̌npwǒ]

Liang Wenbo (Chinese: 梁文博; born 5 March 1987) is a Chinese former professional snooker player who is permanently banned from competition. During his career, Liang won one ranking title at the 2016 English Open, twice won the World Cup for China in 2011 and 2017 with teammate Ding Junhui, and reached one Triple Crown final at the 2015 UK Championship, which he lost to Neil Robertson. He made three maximum breaks in professional competition and achieved a career high of 11th in the snooker world rankings.[5]

In April 2022, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association suspended him for four months after he was convicted of domestic assault. It suspended him again in October 2022 as part of a match-fixing investigation involving ten Chinese players. In January 2023, Liang was charged with fixing matches, approaching players to fix matches, seeking to obstruct the investigation, and failing to cooperate with the investigation. After the charges were heard by an independent disciplinary tribunal, the WPBSA announced in June 2023 that Liang had received a lifetime ban from the sport.

Career

Amateur years

As an amateur, Liang's major feats were as follows:[6]

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.

2004/2005

Liang began his professional career during the 2004–05 snooker season playing on the Challenge Tour, 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.[7]

2005/2006

Liang received a wildcard nomination to the Main Tour despite not qualifying directly;[8] this was because he won the 2005 IBSF World Under-21 Championship, and also because not all of the players that were eligible for the Main Tour took their places.[9] In his first ranking tournament, the Grand Prix, he lost in the first qualifying round to Rory McLeod 2–5.[10] He fared better in the next ranking event, the UK Championship, where he almost whitewashed Alfred Burden in the first qualifying round 9–1, but subsequently lost in the second qualifying round to Marcus Campbell by the narrowest of margins, 8–9.[11]

Liang qualified for his first ranking event at the Welsh Open, beating Sean Storey, Jamie Burnett and Rory McLeod to reach the main draw. He defeated Nigel Bond in the first round 5–0, but his run was halted when he lost to Graeme Dott 3–5.[12]

At the Malta Cup, however, he lost in the first qualifying round to Paul Davies 3–5.[13] At the China Open, he beat David McDonnell and Matthew Couch before losing against Adrian Gunnell 3–5 in the third qualifying round.[14] He ended the season falling at the first hurdle at the World Championship, losing to Joe Delaney 5–10 in the first qualifying round.[15] 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.[16]

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, he beat Robert Stephen 5–0 before falling to David Gilbert 0–5 in qualifying.[17] However, at the Grand Prix, Liang came top of his qualifying group, above more experienced players such as Gerard Greene and Barry Pinches. 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 3–0.[18] At the UK Championship, he lost in the second round of qualifying to Jamie Burnett 7–9.[19] In the following ranking event, the Malta Cup, he lost to Joe Jogia 3–5, again in the second round of qualifying.[20] He qualified for the Welsh Open, his third ranking tournament, by beating Dene O'Kane, Joe Jogia and Mark Davis. He met Nigel Bond again in the last 48, this time losing only 3–5.[21]

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's Robin Hull.[22] At the World Championship, he beat Jeff Cundy before losing to Mike Dunn.[23] After a modest season, he improved on his tour ranking by finishing in 66th place, just outside the top 64;[24] and he topped the one year ranking list to ensure his place on the WSA Tour for next season.[25]

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, 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, where he won through the qualifying rounds, beating Fraser Patrick, Joe Delaney 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, losing in the second qualifying round to David Roe 2–9. He also failed to qualify for the Welsh Open, when he was dispatched in the last qualifying round by Andrew Norman 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.[26]

At the World Championship, Liang was the third Chinese player to qualify for the main draw, defeating Ben Woollaston, Rod Lawler, David Gilbert and Ian McCulloch in the qualifying rounds. He met Ken Doherty 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.[27] 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's Joe Swail 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.[27] 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.[28]

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.[28]

Liang faced eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 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 No. 40 in the world.[26] 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. He then beat Steve Davis and Peter Ebdon to reach the last 16, where he lost to John Higgins 1–5. This result lifted him to a provisional career high of 26 in the world.[29] He reached the main draw of the Grand Prix by winning two qualifying matches, but then succumbed to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the main draw. He then made a 147 and three other centuries (including two total clearances of 139) in a 5–1 victory over Martin Gould in the third qualifying round of the Bahrain Championship. However, he failed to qualify for the main draw, losing 2–5 to Michael Judge.[30]

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 and Mark Allen to reach the main draw, but lost to Ryan Day 0–5 in the first round.[31] Ironically, his second qualifying match for the Welsh Open was held over to ensure that his Welsh opponent Dominic Dale played at the main venue in Newport.

Liang ended the season at the World Championship, after defeating Dave Harold 10–3 in the last qualifying round.[32] He lost in the first round of the main draw 8–10 against Ding Junhui.

2009/2010

In July 2009, Liang won his first professional title, the Beijing International Challenge, beating world No. 2 Stephen Maguire 7–6 in the final.[33] He made a further breakthrough in August when he reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, becoming only the second Chinese player, and the fourth Asian man, to reach a ranking final. He ultimately finished runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan.[34][35]

Liang qualified for the Grand Prix but was defeated 2–5 by Peter Ebdon 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.[36] He reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship 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.[37] He failed to qualify for the Welsh Open and the China Open, as he lost 3–5 against Michael Judge and 2–5 against Andrew Higginson respectively.[38][39]

Liang qualified for the World Championships by defeating Rod Lawler 10–2.[40] He was drawn against Ronnie O'Sullivan, but lost 7–10.[41] 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.[42]

2010/2011

Liang began the season at the Wuxi Classic, where he lost in the first round 2–5 against Marco Fu.[43] 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.[44] Liang failed to qualify for the World Open, as he lost 1–3 against Andrew Higginson and lost his first round match at the Shanghai Masters 3–5 against Matthew Stevens.[43] 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.[45] After this, he lost his qualifying matches in the five ranking tournaments.[43]

Liang also participated at the Players Tour Championship, his best performance coming at the third European event, where he reached the final, but lost 0–4 against Marcus Campbell.[43] After 12 out of 12 events, he was ranked 14th in the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.[46] He lost his first round match at the Finals 1–4 against Ricky Walden.[47]

2011/2012

Liang and Ding Junhui represented China at the World Cup and they won in the final 4–2 against the Northern Ireland team.[48] During his match against Matthew Stevens in the first round of Australian Goldfields Open, Liang had a chance to make his second maximum break in his career, but he snookered himself on the yellow ball, and the break ended at 120.[49] He won the match 5–4 to reach the second round, where he lost 4–5 against Ken Doherty.[50] He also qualified for the Shanghai Masters, but lost in the first round 1–5 against Neil Robertson.[51] 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,[52] and 3–5 against Liu Chuang at the German Masters.[53]

In December 2011, Liang joined Romford-based snooker Academy and management team Grove Leisure.[54] He beat David Gilbert and Rory McLeod, both 4–1, to reach the first round of the Welsh Open, where he faced John Higgins and was this time on the wrong end of a 4–1 scoreline.[55] He narrowly missed out on a place in the World Open as he was defeated 5–4 by Mark King in the final round of qualifying.[56] He also lost in qualifying for the China Open to the eventual winner of the event Peter Ebdon 0–5.[57]

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. 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.[58]

He qualified for the World Championship by defeating Marcus Campbell 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.[59] 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.[60] He finished the season ranked world number 37.[61]

2012/2013

Liang lost in qualifying for both the Wuxi Classic and the Shanghai Masters to Rod Lawler. He reached the venue stage of the Australian Goldfields Open by beating Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon, but lost 3–5 in the first round against Matthew Stevens.[62] Liang beat Anthony McGill and Andrew Higginson to qualify for the UK Championship, where he saw a 4–3 lead in the first round against Barry Hawkins turn into a 4–6 defeat.[63] 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 in the first round.[62] Liang had a very consistent season in the Players Tour Championship series as he advanced to, but not past, the last 16 in five of the ten events.[62] This saw him placed 27th on the PTC Order of Merit, one spot short of making the Finals.[64] Liang's season ended when he was beaten 6–10 by Mark Davis in the final round of World Championship Qualifying.[65] His end-of-year ranking was world number 32.[66]

2013/2014

Liang Wenbo at the 2014 German Masters

In July 2013, Liang reached the final of the World Games but lost in the gold medal match 0–3 to Aditya Mehta.[67] 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.[67] He beat Anthony McGill 4–3 in the semi-finals before whitewashing Lü Haotian 4–0 to claim the £10,000 first prize.[68] In the full ranking events, Liang won five successive frames against defending world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 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.[69] He then thrashed Mark Davis 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.[70][71] Liang reached the last 16 of both the German Masters and Welsh Open, losing 2–5 to Mark Davis and 2–4 to Barry Hawkins, respectively.[67] A second final on the Asian Tour followed at the Dongguan Open where Stuart Bingham made four breaks above 50 to defeat him 4–1, but Liang still topped the Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals.[72] There, he was beaten 2–4 by Yu Delu and Liang was defeated 7–10 by Martin Gould in the final round of World Championship qualifying.[67]

2014/2015

Liang overcame Jamie Burnett 5–1 in the first round of the 2014 Wuxi Classic, and then inflicted the first defeat on Mark Selby since he won the World Championship, beating him 5–3.[73] In the last 16, Liang was knocked out 2–5 by Joe Perry.[74] He lost 3–5 against Robert Milkins in the opening round of the Australian Goldfields Open, and in the wildcard round of the Shanghai Masters 1–5 to Yan Bingtao.[75] He failed to get past the last 64 of the next two ranking events, but won two matches to reach the German Masters, where he eliminated Li Hang 5–1 in the first round. He reached the quarter-finals by coming back from 3–4 down against Stuart Bingham to win 5–4 on the final pink.[76] He repeated this form when he edged Ryan Day 5–4 to play in his second career ranking event semi-final,[77] where he took four frames in a row to hold a narrow 4–3 advantage over Shaun Murphy, before losing three successive frames in a 4–6 defeat.[78] Liang did not drop a single frame in seeing off Cao Xinlong and Gerard Greene at the Welsh Open, but was then the victim of a whitewash by John Higgins in the third round. At the inaugural World Grand Prix, he lost 3–4 to Graeme Dott in the second round.[75] In the final round of World Championship qualifying, he lost the last three frames against compatriot Zhang Anda to be narrowly defeated 9–10.[79]

2015/2016

Liang was heavily beaten 2–8 by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the final of the 2015 Six-red World Championship.[80] In the third round of the UK Championship, he took advantage of a collapse from Judd Trump to win 6–4 after trailing 1–4.[81] He then saw off Tom Ford 6–5, after which Ford accused Liang of "boring him off the table" with slow play.[82] Liang responded by opening his quarter-final match against Marco Fu 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 6–4.[83] 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.[84] A week later, he progressed to the semi-finals of the Gibraltar Open, but was whitewashed 0–4 by Fu.[85]

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 in the opening round.[86] He was whitewashed 0–4 by Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix.[85] After winning three matches to qualify for the World Championship, Liang lost 8–10 to Judd Trump after an earlier 7–3 lead.[87]

2016/2017

In the first round of the Shanghai Masters, Liang was narrowly beaten 5–4 by Ronnie O'Sullivan.[88] He won five matches at the English Open, which included a 4–3 second round victory over Shaun Murphy, to reach the semi-finals.[89] From 3–4 down, Liang made breaks of 134 and 138 and Stuart Bingham 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.[90] 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.[91] The win also gave him entry to his first Champion of Champions where he lost 0–4 in the opening round to Mark Selby.[89]

In the Scottish Open, Liang reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to Yu Delu 4–5.[92] 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.[93] A 4–0 thrashing of Dominic Dale 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.[89] In the second round of the World Championship, Liang trailed Ding Junhui 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.[94] After the event, his end-of-season ranking rose to 11, which was a career-high.[95]

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 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.[96] 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.[97]

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.[98] 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, in which he defeated Dominic Dale, David Grace, Eden Sharav, and Li Hang, before losing to the eventual champion Ding Junhui in the quarter final.[99] Liang also reached the quarter final of the Gibraltar Open, losing 4–1 to Judd Trump.

Domestic assault conviction and suspension

In the early hours of 20 July 2021, Liang was captured on CCTV repeatedly punching and kicking a woman during an argument in Sheffield city centre.[100] The victim also made an emergency call, during which she was reported to be screaming in distress.[100] 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.[101] Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh 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.[102]

On 2 April 2022, the day after Liang's sentencing, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) suspended him from professional competition with immediate effect, making him ineligible to compete in the World Championship qualifiers, which began on 4 April.[103][104] 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 from 2 April until 1 August 2022 and ordered him to pay £1,000 towards the costs of the hearing.[105][106] Liang returned to competition at the 2022 British Open qualifiers.[107]

Match-fixing investigation and permanent ban from snooker

The WPBSA suspended Liang again on 27 October 2022,[108][109] and later disclosed that it was investigating him for match-fixing. Nine other Chinese players were subsequently suspended as part of the same investigation, one of whom, Chang Binyu, alleged on the 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 specific scoreline.[110][111] In January 2023, the WPBSA formally charged Liang with “being concerned in fixing matches and approaching players to fix matches on the World Snooker Tour, seeking to obstruct the investigation and failing to cooperate with the WPBSA investigation”.[112]

Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, Liang was found guilty of fixing or conspiring to fix the results of five matches in total, and of inducing players to fix the results of nine matches. He was also found guilty of betting on matches, threatening players, destroying evidence, and not cooperating with the investigation.[113] He received a lifetime ban from the sport and was ordered to pay £43,000 in costs.[114]

Personal life

Liang is married to Chen Xuejiao; they have one child.[115]

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.[116]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2004/
05 		2005/
06 		2006/
07 		2007/
08 		2008/
09 		2009/
10 		2010/
11 		2011/
12 		2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23
Ranking[117][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] 73 66 40 27 16 30 37 32 26 22 17 11 19 41 35 27 40
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Not Held Non-Ranking Event RR A A
European Masters[nb 4] A LQ LQ NR Tournament Not Held 2R A 3R 1R 1R SF A
British Open A Tournament Not Held 2R LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R WD 2R 3R 1R LQ
UK Championship A LQ LQ LQ LQ QF LQ LQ 1R 3R 2R F 2R 3R 1R QF 3R 1R WD
Scottish Open Tournament Not Held MR Tournament Not Held QF 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R WD
English Open Tournament Not Held W 3R 2R 1R 3R LQ LQ
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR QF SF DNQ DNQ 2R 1R DNQ DNQ
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R A A 3R 3R SF A
German Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ 3R SF 1R WD 2R LQ LQ 1R WD A
Welsh Open A 2R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 4R 3R 3R 2R 4R 2R 1R 1R 1R A
Players Championship[nb 5] Tournament Not Held 1R DNQ DNQ 1R DNQ 1R 1R DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
WST Classic Tournament Not Held A
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ QF 1R 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ 1R 1R WD A
Non-ranking tournaments
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held A A A 1R 1R A A A A A
The Masters A A LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A 1R 1R 1R A A A A A
Championship League Not Held A RR RR RR A A A RR RR RR WD A 2R RR SF A
Six-red World Championship[nb 6] Tournament Not Held A A A NH A A 2R F QF QF A A Not Held A
Former ranking tournaments
Northern Ireland Trophy NH NR LQ 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ 2R 3R Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open Tournament Not Held 2R 1R A 1R A Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ 1R F 1R 1R LQ LQ WR 1R 1R 3R Non-Ranking Not Held
Paul Hunter Classic[nb 8] Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 3R A A NR Not Held
Indian Open Tournament Not Held 3R 1R NH A A 1R Tournament Not Held
China Open 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R LQ 1R 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 9] Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank A A 2R A Not Held
International Championship Tournament Not Held LQ QF LQ 2R 3R 3R 1R 3R Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR LQ 3R LQ Not Held
World Open[nb 10] A LQ RR LQ 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ 3R Not Held 2R 1R LQ 2R Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held 2R NH
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 1R 3R A QF 2R 1R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Huangshan Cup Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Masters Qualifying Event NH A QF QF 2R A Tournament Not Held
Beijing International Challenge Tournament Not Held W SF Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held RR A 1R 1R Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 2R Ranking Event
General Cup[nb 11] A Tournament Not Held F NH A RR A RR A Tournament Not Held
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held WD 3R 1R A A 1R Ranking Event
China Championship Tournament Not Held 1R Ranking Event Not Held
Romanian Masters Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Haining Open Tournament Not Held Minor-Rank A A 2R A NH A NH
Shanghai Masters Not Held Ranking Event 1R 2R Not Held
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.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ He was not on the Main Tour
  3. ^ New players don't have a ranking
  4. ^ The event was called the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  5. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011–2015/2016)
  6. ^ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  7. ^ a b The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  8. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007)
  9. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  10. ^ The event was called the Grand Prix (2004/2005–2009/2010)
  11. ^ The event was called the General Cup International (2004/2005–2011/2012)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Legend
UK Championship (0–1)
Other (1–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2009 Shanghai Masters England Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–10
Runner-up 2. 2015 UK Championship Australia Neil Robertson 5–10
Winner 1. 2016 English Open England Judd Trump 9–6

Minor-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1 2010 Rhein–Main Masters Scotland Marcus Campbell 0–4
Winner 1 2013 Zhengzhou Open China Lyu Haotian 4–0
Runner-up 2 2014 Dongguan Open England Stuart Bingham 1–4

Non-ranking finals: 5 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2009 Beijing International Challenge Scotland Stephen Maguire 7–6
Runner-up 1. 2009 General Cup England Ricky Walden 2–6
Runner-up 2. 2011 HK Spring Trophy China Cao Yupeng 5–6 [118]
Runner-up 3. 2013 World Games India Aditya Mehta 0–3
Runner-up 4. 2015 Six-red World Championship Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 2–8

Pro-am finals: 2

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2006 Asian Games China Ding Junhui 2–4
Runner-up 1. 2009 Asian Indoor Games China Xiao Guodong 2–5

Team finals: 4 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2011 World Cup  China  Northern Ireland 4–2
Winner 2. 2017 World Cup (2)  China A  England 4–3
Runner-up 1. 2017 CVB Snooker Challenge  China  Great Britain 9–26
Runner-up 2. 2019 World Cup  China B  Scotland 0–4

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1 2005 IBSF World Under-21 Championship China Tian Pengfei 11–9

References

  1. ^ "Liang Wenbo". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 International Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. ^ "WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 Betway UK Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  4. ^ "WORLD RANKINGS After 2017 Betfred World Championship". Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Liang Wenbo". WPBSA. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  6. ^ Janie Watkins (2006). "Player Profile: Liang Wenbo". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  7. ^ "2004-5 Challenge Tour Rankings". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  8. ^ "2005-6 Main Tour List". Global Snooker Centre. 2005. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  9. ^ "IBSF UNDER-21 WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIPS". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  10. ^ "2005 Grand Prix at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  11. ^ "2005 UK Championship at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  12. ^ "2006 Welsh Open at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  13. ^ "2005 Malta Cup at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  14. ^ "2006 China Open at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  15. ^ "2006 World Championship at the Global Snooker Centre". Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  16. ^ "2006-7 Main Tour – Eligible Players". Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  17. ^ "2006 Northern Ireland Trophy". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  18. ^ "2006 Grand Prix". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  19. ^ "2006 UK Championship". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  20. ^ "2006-7 Malta Cup". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  21. ^ "2007 Welsh Open". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  22. ^ "2007 China Open". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  23. ^ "2007 World Snooker Championship". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  24. ^ "2006–7 Main Tour – Final Rankings". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  25. ^ "2006-7 Main Tour – One Year Rankings". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  26. ^ a b "2007-8 Main Tour Rankings". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  27. ^ a b "Liang Wenbo's Days in Crucible Theatre 2008". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  28. ^ a b "Liang edges out Swail in classic". BBC Sport. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  29. ^ "Provisional World Rankings". World Snooker. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  30. ^ Global Snooker: Qualifying Results Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "2008 Shanghai Masters Trophy". Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  32. ^ Twice-Champ Williams Secures Crucible Place Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "Wenbo Bags first Professional title in the BTV Beijing Challenge". Global Snooker. 12 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  34. ^ "Liang Stuns Murphy To Reach Final". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  35. ^ "O'Sullivan seals Shanghai Masters". BBC Sport. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  36. ^ Crooke, Perry (5 October 2009). "Peter Ebdon beats Liang Wenbo to reach Grand Prix second round". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  37. ^ "2009 UK Championship". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  38. ^ "2010 Welsh Open Qualifying". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  39. ^ "2010 Sanyuan Foods China Open Qualifying". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  40. ^ "2010 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship Qualifying". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  41. ^ "2010 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  42. ^ "Rankings 2010/11 Season – Season Starting PositionsG". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  43. ^ a b c d "Liang Wenbo – 2010/2011". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  44. ^ "BTV International 2010, 19–25 июля, Китай". Top-Snooker.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  45. ^ Turner, Chris. "Latest World Rankings". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  46. ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  47. ^ "PTC 2010/2011 Finals". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  48. ^ "PTT-EGAT World Cup (2011) Results". pttegatsnookerworldcup.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  49. ^ "Super Selby / Liang misses out on maximum". worldsnooker.com. World Snooker. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  50. ^ "Australian Goldfields Open (2011)". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  51. ^ "Shanghai Masters (2011)". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  52. ^ "UK Championship Qualifiers (2011)". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  53. ^ "2012 German Masters Qualifiers". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  54. ^ "Liang Wenbo joins the Grove". Grove Leisure. 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  55. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/17005038 [dead link‍]
  56. ^ "Results". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  57. ^ "Bank of Beijing China Open Qualifiers (2012)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  58. ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  59. ^ "Liang Survives Campbell Fight-Back". WPBSA. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  60. ^ "World Snooker Championship 2012: Higgins beats Liang". BBC Sport. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  61. ^ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  62. ^ a b c Liang Wenbo 2012/2013, Snooker.org.
  63. ^ "Barry Hawkins flies through to second round of UK Snooker Championships". The Press. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  64. ^ "Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  65. ^ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  66. ^ "Official World Snooker Ranking List For The 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  67. ^ a b c d "Liang Wenbo 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  68. ^ "Wonderful Wenbo Wins In Zhengzhou". World Snooker. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  69. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan loses to Liang Wenbo in International Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  70. ^ "Peter Ebdon beats Neil Robertson at International Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  71. ^ "Ding Comes Through Ebdon Test". World Snooker. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  72. ^ "Asian Order of Merit 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  73. ^ "Wuxi Classic: Mark Selby loses to Liang Wenbo in China". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  74. ^ "Hull of a Performance". World Snooker. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  75. ^ a b "Liang Wenbo 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  76. ^ "O'Sullivan Takes Route 66 Past Perry". World Snooker. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  77. ^ "Murphy Downs Rocket In Thriller". World Snooker. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  78. ^ "German Masters: Shaun Murphy will play Mark Selby in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  79. ^ "Sweet 16 Through to Sheffield". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  80. ^ "Thepchaiya Reaches Nooh Level". World Snooker. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  81. ^ "UK Championship: Judd Trump 'embarrassed' by collapse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  82. ^ "UK Championship: Tom Ford accuses Liang Wenbo of being boring". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  83. ^ "China's Liang Wenbo holds focus to repel Hong Kong's Marco Fu Ka-chun in snooker's UK Championship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  84. ^ "Neil Robertson overcomes Liang Wenbo to seal second UK Championship". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  85. ^ a b "Liang Wenbo 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  86. ^ "Masters 2016: John Higgins sees off Liang Wenbo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  87. ^ "Judd Trump buys drinks for his fans after World Snooker Championship first round fightback". Bath Chronicle. Retrieved 6 August 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  88. ^ "Shanghai Masters: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Liang Wenbo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  89. ^ a b c "Liang Wenbo 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  90. ^ "Liang Wins Classic Semi-final". World Snooker. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  91. ^ "Liang Claims Maiden Ranking Title". World Snooker. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  92. ^ "Superb Fu into Last Four". World Snooker. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  93. ^ "Masters 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Liang Wenbo in first-round thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  94. ^ "Ding Sets Up O'Sullivan Clash". World Snooker. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  95. ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  96. ^ "O'Sullivan survives Masters scare". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  97. ^ "Liang Makes 147 - Then Misses Black On 140". World Snooker. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  98. ^ "Liang Wenbo - Players - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  99. ^ "2019 UK Championship: Complete tournament results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  100. ^ a b "Liang Wenbo: Snooker pro who dragged woman to floor and kicked her in 'sustained and deliberate' attack is fined". Sky News. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  101. ^ "Liang Wenbo sentenced for assaulting woman in Sheffield". BBC News. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  102. ^ Burke, Darren (3 April 2022). "Liang Wenbo: Star banned from World Snooker Tour after attacking woman in Yorkshire". Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  103. ^ World Snooker Tour (2 April 2022). "Statement on Liang Wenbo". Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  104. ^ "Liang handed snooker ban after assault conviction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  105. ^ "Liang banned until August after assault conviction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  106. ^ "WPBSA Statement | Liang Wenbo". WPBSA. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  107. ^ Shaw, Jamie (11 August 2022). "Liang Wenbo at the centre of controversy on playing return at the British Open Qualifiers". livesnooker.com. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  108. ^ Ivan (27 October 2022). "WPBSA Statement - Liang Wenbo". World Snooker. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  109. ^ "Liang banned by WPBSA pending investigation". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  110. ^ "UK Championship winner Zhao latest to be suspended". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  111. ^ "Suspended snooker star accuses Liang Wenbo of orchestrating match fixing". www.sportinglife.com. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  112. ^ Huart, Matt (18 January 2023). "WPBSA Statement | 18 January 2023". WPBSA. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  113. ^ Sport Resolutions. "In the matter of proceedings before a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Disciplinary Committee" (PDF). Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  114. ^ Huart, Matt (6 June 2023). "WPBSA Statement | 6 June 2023". WPBSA. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  115. ^ "Wenbo Liang". IMDb. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  116. ^ "Liang Wenbo makes coronavirus prize money pledge". www.insidethegames.biz. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  117. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  118. ^ "图文-香港台球邀请赛曹宇鹏获得冠军 小心架杆_综合体育_新浪竞技风暴_新浪网".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liang Wenbo.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liang_Wenbo&oldid=1181343532"