Wu Yize on brink of first major title after win over Zhao Xintong, but why has International Championship been hit by a century avalanche?
Published 07/11/2025 at 19:11 GMT
Wu Yize moved to the brink of a first major title with a 9-6 win over world champion Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals of the International Championship in Nanjing on Friday. The flamboyant 22-year-old potter from Lanzhou produced two century breaks to end Zhao's hopes of a first ranking success since Sheffield in May. He will face John Higgins or Stephen Maguire in Sunday's best-of-19 frame final.
'That's the end!' - Dramatic finish to semi-final as Wu downs Zhao
Video credit: TNT Sports
Wu Yize is arguably the best player yet to claim a major title on the World Snooker Tour after losing twice in ranking finals last season.
Jack Lisowski had earned that dubious moniker the hard way after losing six times in ranking finals between 2018 and 2021 until he recently edged out world No. 1 Judd Trump 9-8 in a riveting Northern Ireland Open final in Belfast.
While Wu, at the age of only 22, can hardly be described as a worthy successor to Lisowski's "nearly man" tag, the prodigious potting talents of the world No. 22 has always hinted heavily at a golden future since he was named the sport's "Rookie of the Year" in 2022.
Wu twice reached finals last season, losing 9-7 to Neil Robertson in the showpiece match of the English Open in Brentwood, and 9-5 to Lei Peifan at the Scottish Open in Edinburgh. He had fallen narrowly short of his bid to translate desire into fulfilment as a major tournament winner.
All his dreams appear to be crystallising at the International Championship in Nanjing where he defeated world champion Zhao Xintong 9-6 on Friday to secure a spot in Sunday's best-of-19 frame final against John Higgins or Stephen Maguire.
"I'm quite excited," said Wu. "I didn't think I could actually beat him. In fact, as soon as the second session began, I felt a lot of pressure. He missed a brown ball I didn't expect in the ninth frame.
"I was ready to go to the bathroom and prepare for the next frame. It came as a surprise. It was a turning point.Â
"I know for top players like him, winning consecutive frames is very normal. Nothing could be more normal for him. I just told myself to keep calm and always focus on the frame in hand."
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'That is a plot twist' - Zhao misses simple brown to hand Wu chance to take crucial frame
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Wu's win over Zhao included breaks of 140 and 108, and continued a theme of heavy scoring that saw him recover from trailing Trump 4-0 in the last 16 to complete a remarkable 6-4 win, restricting the two-time winner to only 18 points in the final six frames.
He then whitewashed former world finalist Barry Hawkins 6-0 in the quarter-finals to make it a rampant 12-frame winning streak in the competition that has contained breaks of 62 or more in each frame won.
In total, he has contributed nine centuries in his run to the final this week, the most of any player, after also missing the 13th red of a maximum attempt in a 6-3 qualifying win over Lan Yuhao at Ponds Forge in Sheffield last month.
A career-defining victory on Sunday would see him earn the first prize of ÂŁ175,000 and oust last year's finalist Chris Wakelin from the top 16 seeds who qualify for the main stages of the UK Championship in York, which start on November 29 and are live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
With Ding Junhui claiming three UK titles between 2005 and 2019 and Zhao successful at the coveted event in 2021, Wu will be among the favourites to continue his red-hot form at the Barbican, host of the sport's second-biggest ranking event.
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'Fabulous' - Wu hits first century of semi-final against Zhao
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I've definitely improved since my last ranking final, especially recently," Wu said. "I feel I've started to make less mistakes in matches, compared to last year.Â
"Everyone has been quite supportive of me. I enjoy playing out there because I'm playing in my homeland. Everything feels pleasant and joyful. There will be a bit of a home advantage. I hope I can make use of it."
Whether success in China travels well to the UK remains a moot point, with the scoring conditions in Nanjing appearing considerably easier than the challenge facing the leading men in a different time zone.
A sweltering 115 century breaks and counting, including the 14th 147 of the campaign made by Zak Surety, have so far been compiled at the main stages of the International Championship, following on from 37 during qualifying. That's 152 in total, before the second semi-final and final this weekend.
Two weeks ago, only 38 were produced at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
It was a similar output last season with 93 made in last year's International Championship before only 45 were witnessed at the UK Championship a few weeks later.
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Watch: Wu completes remarkable comeback to send Trump out in Nanjing
Video credit: TNT Sports
The all-time century record for the event is 155, produced two years ago in Tianjin City when Zhang Anda triumphed.
The statistics alone suggest scoring is harder to come by on more restrictive tables in the UK, while rapid repeat winners of any tournament are also becoming something of a rarity in snooker parlance.
A home triumph on Sunday would see Wu become the 11th different player to claim a major title since John Higgins carried off the Tour Championship in Manchester on April.
The tables appear to be built for Wu's bid to become only China's ninth winner of an elite ranking event.
Snooker's last 10 major tournament winners
- Tour Championship: John Higgins (Sco) 10‍–‍8 Mark Selby (Eng) - April 2025
- World Championship: Zhao Xintong (Chn) 18‍–‍12 Mark Williams (Wal) - May 2025
- Championship League: Stephen Maguire (Sco) 3–1 Joe O'Connor (Eng) - July 2025
- Shanghai Masters: Kyren Wilson (Eng) 11–9 Ali Carter (Eng) - August 2025
- Saudi Arabia Masters: Neil Robertson (Aus) 10–9 Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) - August 2025
- Wuhan Open: Xiao Guodong (Chn) 10–9 Gary Wilson (Eng) - August 2025
- English Open: Mark Allen (NI) 9–8 Zhou Yuelong (Chn) - September 2025
- British Open: Shaun Murphy (Eng) 10–7 Anthony McGill (Sco) - September 2025
- Xi'an Grand Prix: Mark Williams (Wal) 10–3 Shaun Murphy (Eng) - October 2025
- Northern Ireland Open: Jack Lisowski (Eng) 9–8 Judd Trump (Eng) - October 2025
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Surety makes sensational third round maximum break in victory against Hill
Video credit: TNT Sports
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