2026 World Snooker Champion · World No. 4
From Lanzhou to the Crucible — China's brightest star, crowned at 22 in a deciding-frame classic.
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In one of the most dramatic finals since 2002, Wu Yize defeated Shaun Murphy 18–17 to claim snooker's most coveted prize aged just 22. He becomes the second consecutive Chinese world champion and the second youngest Crucible champion in history.
Playing as a Crucible seed for the first time, Wu demolished compatriot Lei Peifan and navigated the draw to reach his maiden World Championship final.
Wu joined snooker's elite maximum break club in a 3–1 Championship League victory. He went on to reach the event final before losing to Mark Selby.
Wu beat defending champion Shaun Murphy 6–2 and whitewashed Xiao Guodong on his Alexandra Palace debut before falling to Kyren Wilson in a deciding frame.
Wu claimed his first ranking title at the 2025 International Championship in Daqing, defeating John Higgins 10–6 with fourteen centuries across the event to enter the world top 16.
Biography
Born on 14 October 2003 in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province in northwestern China, Wu Yize showed exceptional talent from childhood. His father recognised the gift early, taking him to the Yushan International Billiards Academy at age 11 to work under Australian coach Roger Leighton.
Wu burst onto the international scene at the 2019 International Championship in Daqing as a wildcard, taking four-time world champion John Higgins to a deciding frame. Just a year earlier, aged only 14, he had become IBSF Under-21 World Champion — one of the youngest ever to hold that title.
He earned his professional tour card through the 2021 CBSA China Tour and was named Rookie of the Year for the 2021–22 season. What followed was a relentless ascent: his first ranking final in 2024, his maiden title at the 2025 International Championship, and finally the 2026 World Championship, claimed 18–17 on a deciding frame against Shaun Murphy.
Wu Yize — Interactive Break Builder
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