Liang Wenbo
Encyclopedia
Liang Wenbo ' onMouseout='HidePop("19205")' href="/topics/Pinyin">pinyin
: Liáng Wénbó ; born 5 March 1987 in Zhaodong
, Suihua
, Heilongjiang
) is a Chinese
professional snooker
player. He is left-handed and ranked as China
's number 2 player, after Ding Junhui
. Liang is based at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield
, England
, United Kingdom
.
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
.
, Liang took part in the Challenge Tour
, the tier below the World Snooker Association Main Tour. He finished a lowly 104th out of 168 competitors, having only accumulated 2150 points.
tour directly, Liang received a wildcard nomination to the main tour; this was because he won the 2005 IBSF World Under-21 Championship
and because not all the players that were eligible for the main tour took their places. In his first ranking tournament, the Grand Prix
, Liang lost in the first qualifying round to Rory McLeod
2–5. In the next ranking event, the UK Championship, he fared better, nearly whitewashing Alfred Burden
in the first qualifying round 9–1; he lost in the second qualifying round to Marcus Campbell
by the narrowest of margins, 8–9.
It was to be at the Welsh Open where Liang would qualify for his first ranking event; he beat Sean Storey
, Jamie Burnett
and Rory McLeod
to get into the main draw. His first opponent in the main draw he beat Nigel Bond
5–0. His run was halted by Graeme Dott
, when he lost 3–5.
However at the Malta he lost in the first qualifying round to Paul Davies 3–5. At the China Open
he beat David McDonnell and Matthew Couch
before losing against Adrian Gunnell
3–5 in the third qualifying round. He ended the season, falling at the first hurdle at the World Championship losing to Joe Delaney 5–10 in the first qualifying round. He ended his debut season on the professional tour ranked 78th on the tour, which did not guarantee a place in next season's tour; however he just finished inside the top 8 of the one year list, qualifying him for a place in next season's main tour.
, 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. However, at the Grand Prix, Liang came top of his qualifying group, above more experienced players such as Gerard Greene
and Barry Pinches
. He finishing fourth in the group, and although he did not qualify for the next round, he did beat former world champion and world number one Stephen Hendry
3–0. At the UK Championship, he lost in the second round of qualifying to Jamie Burnett
7–9. In the following ranking event, the Malta Cup
, he lost to Joe Jogia
3–5, again in the second round of qualifying. He qualified for his third ranking tournament, at the Welsh Open by beating Dene O'Kane
, Joe Jogia and Mark Davis
. In the Last 48, he met Nigel Bond again, this time he lost only 3–5.
He continued his run of reaching the second round of qualifying in every ranking tournament at the China Open, beating Robert Stephen before losing to Finland
's Robin Hull
. At the World Championship he beat Jeff Cundy before losing to Mike Dunn. After a modest season, he improved on his tour ranking by finishing in 66th place, just outside the top 64; he topped the one year ranking list to ensure his place on the WSA Tour for next season.
, however again Nigel Bond beat him 5–3 in the last qualifying round preventing him from appearing in 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. The next tournament the Northern Ireland Trophy brought more luck; he won through the qualifying beating Fraser Patrick, Joe Delaney and Rory McLeod
on the way. In the last 48, he faced Gerard Greene, but lost 2–5. He did not do as well in the UK Championship; he lost in the second qualifying round to David Roe
2–9. He also failed to qualify for the Welsh Open, falling at the last hurdle losing to Andrew Norman
2–5. At his other home tournament, the China Open he fell at the first hurdle, losing in the first qualifying round to Steve Mifsud
, who at the end of this season was ranked 54 places below him.
At the World Championships, Liang was the third Chinese player to qualify for the event, with victories over Ben Woollaston
, Rod Lawler
, David Gilbert
and Ian McCulloch
.
At the championship itself, he drew a first round meet with Ken Doherty
, who he defeated 10 frames to 5. Before the start of this match, Wenbo accidentally entered the arena with the match officials and had to scurry back. He subsequently got a warm ovation when he entered the arena for a second time after being introduced by MC Rob Walker. For every session thereafter, Walker introduced him as "Should he stay or should he go
... Liang Wenbo", despite the rhyme occurring because of a mispronunciation of his name ("bo" is pronounced "boo-a" 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 laughter, Swail pointed out his mistake and the referee called Liang back to the table. In the 23rd frame, Liang, with a 12–10 lead, prematurely celebrated winning after potting match ball, only to go on to lose the frame due to a snooker. Swail came back to level the match at 12–12. In the final frame, Liang made breaks of 34 and 30 early on. He missed the final yellow but snookered Swail, leaving the white in the jaws of the pocket. Liang played a safety and Swail snookered him behind the blue, but Liang failed to hit the ball and Swail had the white replaced. Liang then hit the yellow directly. This incident proved controversial as the referee replaced the white in the wrong position, giving Liang a better sight of the yellow. At the time, Swail nodded his assent to the referee, but in a post-match interview, complained and accused Liang of unprofessional behaviour for 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 given the tension of the situation Liang could be forgiven for not thinking clearly. Liang went on to win the frame 74–34, and thus, the match 13–12.
In the quarter final Liang faced eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
. Liang took the first two frames with a break of 80 in the first. O'Sullivan levelled the match 4–4 by the end of the first session. In the second session O'Sullivan eased ahead, and went on to win 13–7.
Liang's run to the quarter-finals gained him 5000 ranking points, boosting his final ranking to number 40 in the world. This guaranteed that he would only have to play two qualifying matches to get into the main draw of the ranking tournaments.
. At the venue 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. At the Grand Prix he reached the main draw by winning 2 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
.
For the two Chinese events on the 2008/2009 tour, Liang's two qualifying matches were held over until the venue stages. At the Shanghai Masters Wenbo defeated Atthasit Mahitthi and Mark Allen
to reach the main draw, but lost to Ryan Day
0–5 in the first round. Ironically, his second qualifying match for the Welsh Open was held over to ensure that his Welsh opponent Dominic Dale
played at the venue.
Liang ended the season at the World Championship, after defeating Dave Harold
10–3 in the last qualifying. He lost in the first round 8–10 against Ding Junhui
.
7–6 in the final.
In August 2009 he made a further breakthrough when he reached the final of the Shanghai Masters. With this he became only the second Chinese
player to reach a ranking final, and the fourth Asian man. He ultimately finished runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan
.
Liang qualified for the Grand Prix but was defeated 5–2 by Peter Ebdon
in the first round, winning the first two frames and losing the last five in the succession. Prior to this meeting, Liang had played Ebdon twice and won 5–1 and 5–0.
Liang 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.
He didn't qualify for the Welsh Open and the China Open as he lost 3–5 against Michael Judge
and 2–5 against Andrew Higginson
respectively.
He qualified for the World Championships by defeating Rod Lawler
10–2. He was drawn against Ronnie O'Sullivan
, but he lost 7–10. After the quarter-finals of the event it was clear, that Liang will ranked as number 16 in the next season
, the only new player entering the top 16 that season.
, where he lost in the first round of 2–5 against Marco Fu
. Liang 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
. 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
. Having started the season inside the top 16, his results were not enough to maintain that position and he slipped out of the top 16. After this Liang lost his qualifying matches in the five ranking tournaments.
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
. After 12 out of 12 events he is ranked 14th in the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit. Liang lost his first round match at the Finals
1–4 against Ricky Walden
.
represented China at the World Cup
and they won in the final 4–2 against the Northern Ireland
. 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. Liang won the match 5–4 to reach the second round, where he lost 4–5 against Ken Doherty
. Liang also qualified for the Shanghai Masters
, but lost in the first round 1–5 against Neil Robertson
. After this Liang couldn't qualify for the next two ranking events, as he lost 2–6 against Michael White
at the UK Championship
, and 3–5 against Liu Chuang
at the German Masters
.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Liáng Wénbó ; born 5 March 1987 in Zhaodong
Zhaodong
Zhaodong is a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants in southwestern Heilongjiang province in Northeast China. It is under the administration of Suihua City around to the northeast and around northwest of Harbin, the provincial capital.-External links:*...
, Suihua
Suihua
Suihua is a prefecture-level city in west-central Heilongjiang province of Northeast China, adjacent to Yichun to the east, Harbin, the provincial capital, to the south, Daqing to the west and Heihe to the north...
, Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
) is a Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
professional snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
player. He is left-handed and ranked as China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
's number 2 player, after Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
. Liang is based at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Career
As an amateur, Liang's major feats were as follows:- 2003 IBSF World Snooker ChampionshipIBSF World Snooker ChampionshipThe IBSF World Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation...
, men's division, quarter-finalist - 2004 IBSF World Snooker Championship, under-21 division, semi-finalist
- 2005 International Open SeriesInternational Open SeriesThe International Open Series , was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/2002 season until the 2009/2010 season...
, under-21 division, no. 4 runner-up
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
Cue sports at the 2006 Asian Games
The cue sports of snooker, English billiards, and three-cushion carom for men, as well as eight-ball and nine-ball pool for both men and women, were contested at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar from December 4 to December 11...
.
2004/2005
During the 2004/05 snooker seasonSnooker season 2004/2005
The snooker season 2004/2005 was a series of snooker tournaments played during the years 2004 and 2005. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...
, Liang took part in the Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour (snooker)
The Challenge Tour was a series of professional snooker tournaments that ran from the 1997/1998 season until the 2004/2005 season. The tour was immediately below the level of the WPBSA Main Tour...
, the tier below the World Snooker Association Main Tour. He finished a lowly 104th out of 168 competitors, having only accumulated 2150 points.
2005/2006
Despite not qualifying for the main snookerSnooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
tour directly, Liang received a wildcard nomination to the main tour; this was because he won the 2005 IBSF World Under-21 Championship
IBSF World Snooker Championship
The IBSF World Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation...
and because not all the players that were eligible for the main tour took their places. In his first ranking tournament, the Grand Prix
2005 Grand Prix (snooker)
The 2005 Grand Prix professional ranking snooker tournament was held between 8 and 16 October 2005, at the Guild Hall, Preston, England.John Higgins won in the final 9-2 against Ronnie O'Sullivan. In the final, Higgins set two records...
, Liang lost in the first qualifying round to Rory McLeod
Rory McLeod (snooker player)
Rory McLeod is an English professional snooker player. After ten years on the Challenge Tour he reached the Main Tour professional ranks for the 2001/2002 season, paving the way for a solid journeyman career.-Career:...
2–5. In the next ranking event, the UK Championship, he fared better, nearly whitewashing Alfred Burden
Alfred Burden
Alfred "Alfie" Burden is an English professional snooker player who lives in London.-Career:Burden originally had his eyes set on making a career as a professional footballer, but a badly broken leg curtailed this ambition. He spent a couple of seasons at Arsenal F.C. as a schoolboy apprentice,...
in the first qualifying round 9–1; he lost in the second qualifying round to Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell is a Scottish professional snooker player. He lives in Erskine. He has been ranked within the worlds top 64 for 9 consecutive seasons and is currently ranked at 24.-Career:...
by the narrowest of margins, 8–9.
It was to be at the Welsh Open where Liang would qualify for his first ranking event; he beat Sean Storey
Sean Storey
Sean Storey is an English professional snooker player.His best ranking performance to date came in the World Championship in 2003, where he bowed out in the last 16, losing 7-13 to John Higgins. Previously he had qualified for the World Championship in 2001, but lost 10-9 to Joe Swail after...
, Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett is a professional snooker player from Hamilton, Scotland.-Career:During the qualifying stages of the 2004 UK Championship, he achieved the impressive feat of becoming the first ever player to compile a break over 147 in a professional match, in which he made a break of 148 against...
and Rory McLeod
Rory McLeod (snooker player)
Rory McLeod is an English professional snooker player. After ten years on the Challenge Tour he reached the Main Tour professional ranks for the 2001/2002 season, paving the way for a solid journeyman career.-Career:...
to get into the main draw. His first opponent in the main draw he beat Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond
-External links:*...
5–0. His run was halted by Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the 2006 World Championship, which was his first ranking title after four previous runner-up spots...
, when he lost 3–5.
However at the Malta he lost in the first qualifying round to Paul Davies 3–5. At the China Open
2005 China Open (snooker)
The 2005 China Open professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 26 March–3 April 2005 at the Chaoyang Sports Centre in Beijing, China...
he beat David McDonnell and Matthew Couch
Matthew Couch
Matthew Couch is an English professional snooker player from Scunthorpe. A professional since 1992, Couch has had little success in ranking events, although he reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in 1998, and his highest break is 141 from 2002.He returned to the Main Tour for the...
before losing against Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell
Adrian Gunnell is an English professional snooker player from Telford. He has reached the last-16 in four world ranking events , but has yet to progress beyond that stage...
3–5 in the third qualifying round. He ended the season, falling at the first hurdle at the World Championship losing to Joe Delaney 5–10 in the first qualifying round. He ended his debut season on the professional tour ranked 78th on the tour, which did not guarantee a place in next season's tour; however he just finished inside the top 8 of the one year list, qualifying him for a place in next season's main tour.
2006/2007
During the 2006/07 seasonSnooker season 2006/2007
The snooker season 2006/2007 was a series of snooker tournaments played during 2006 and 2007. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.-Calendar:- Official rankings :...
, Liang reached at least the second round of qualifying in every ranking event. At the Northern Ireland Trophy
2006 Northern Ireland Trophy
The 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy was the 2006 edition of the Northern Ireland Trophy snooker tournament, held from 13 to 20 August 2006, at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ding Junhui defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan by nine to six in the final to lift his third ranking title whilst...
he beat Robert Stephen
Robert Stephen
Robert Stephen is a Scottish professional snooker player from Glasgow, born 27 June 1984. He first qualified for the main tour for the 2006/2007 season having topped the Scottish rankings the year before. However he struggled with only two victories in the whole season and dropped off the main tour...
5–0 before falling to David Gilbert
David Gilbert (snooker player)
David Gilbert is an English professional snooker player. Gilbert is a former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction. Gilbert practices in Tamworth, Staffordshire at 'Tamworth Cue Sports Leisure Club'.-Career:...
0–5 in qualifying. However, at the Grand Prix, Liang came top of his qualifying group, above more experienced players such as Gerard Greene
Gerard Greene
Gerard Greene is a left-handed Northern Irish professional snooker player, who has represented Northern Ireland in international events , as his parents are from Belfast. He lives in Rainham in Kent...
and Barry Pinches
Barry Pinches
-External links:**...
. He finishing fourth in the group, and although he did not qualify for the next round, he did beat former world champion and world number one Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
3–0. At the UK Championship, he lost in the second round of qualifying to Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett is a professional snooker player from Hamilton, Scotland.-Career:During the qualifying stages of the 2004 UK Championship, he achieved the impressive feat of becoming the first ever player to compile a break over 147 in a professional match, in which he made a break of 148 against...
7–9. In the following ranking event, the Malta Cup
2007 Malta Cup
-Final:-Qualifying:Qualifying for the tournament took place in Pontin's Prestatyn, Wales between 31 October and 3 November 2006.-Qualifying stages centuries:* 138 Mark Allen* 134, 100 Mark Davis* 131 Alfie Burden* 129 Mark King* 124, 102 Liang Wenbo...
, he lost to Joe Jogia
Shailesh Jogia
Shailesh Jogia, commonly known as "Joe", is a British professional snooker player of Indian extraction, born in Leicester, England on 13 November 1975. He lives in the Hertfordshire town of Letchworth.he now lives back in leicester...
3–5, again in the second round of qualifying. He qualified for his third ranking tournament, at the Welsh Open by beating Dene O'Kane
Dene O'Kane
Dene O'Kane is a professional snooker player from New Zealand. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 1987 and 1992. He made his World Championship debut in 1985, losing to David Taylor in the first round. He appeared in the world championships six times, but never in...
, Joe Jogia and Mark Davis
Mark Davis (snooker player)
Mark Davis is an English professional snooker player from St. Leonards in Sussex, England. The highlights of his career so far have been winning the Benson & Hedges Championship in 2002 – earning him an appearance at the Masters – and winning the 2009 Six-red World Championship.- Career :Davis...
. In the Last 48, he met Nigel Bond again, this time he lost only 3–5.
He continued his run of reaching the second round of qualifying in every ranking tournament at the China Open, beating Robert Stephen before losing to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's Robin Hull
Robin Hull
Robin Hull is a Finnish professional snooker player. For some time he was the sole Nordic player on the game's main tour, although his accent reflects the fact that he was largely raised in London, and his father is English....
. At the World Championship he beat Jeff Cundy before losing to Mike Dunn. After a modest season, he improved on his tour ranking by finishing in 66th place, just outside the top 64; he topped the one year ranking list to ensure his place on the WSA Tour for next season.
2007/2008
Liang's season started brightly; he nearly qualified for the Shanghai Masters2007 Shanghai Masters
The 2007 Shanghai Masters was the inaugural event of the Shanghai Masters tournament and the first ranking event of the season. It took place between 6–12 August 2007 at the Shanghai Grand Stage.Dominic Dale won in the final 10–6 against Ryan Day....
, however again Nigel Bond beat him 5–3 in the last qualifying round preventing him from appearing in 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. The next tournament the Northern Ireland Trophy brought more luck; he won through the qualifying beating Fraser Patrick, Joe Delaney and Rory McLeod
Rory McLeod (snooker player)
Rory McLeod is an English professional snooker player. After ten years on the Challenge Tour he reached the Main Tour professional ranks for the 2001/2002 season, paving the way for a solid journeyman career.-Career:...
on the way. In the last 48, he faced Gerard Greene, but lost 2–5. He did not do as well in the UK Championship; he lost in the second qualifying round to David Roe
David Roe
David Roe is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist.Roe began his professional career for the 1986/1987 season...
2–9. He also failed to qualify for the Welsh Open, falling at the last hurdle losing to Andrew Norman
Andrew Norman
Andrew Norman is an English professional snooker player who lives in Bristol, who turned professional in 2001. He has progressed up the ranking list between 2005 and 2007, jumping 30 places...
2–5. At his other home tournament, the China Open he fell at the first hurdle, losing in the first qualifying round to Steve Mifsud
Steve Mifsud
Steve Mifsud is a Maltese Australian professional snooker player. He was a winner of the IBSF World Amateur Championship in Cairo, Egypt in 2002, beating Tim English 11–6 in the final which enabled him to get on the main tour for the 2002/2003 season, although he later dropped off...
, who at the end of this season was ranked 54 places below him.
At the World Championships, Liang was the third Chinese player to qualify for the event, with victories over Ben Woollaston
Ben Woollaston
-External links:**...
, Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1990. His best run in a ranking tournament was in 1996, when he reached the final of the International Open, beating World Champion Stephen Hendry 5–3 in the second round, but his run ended in the final where he lost...
, David Gilbert
David Gilbert (snooker player)
David Gilbert is an English professional snooker player. Gilbert is a former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction. Gilbert practices in Tamworth, Staffordshire at 'Tamworth Cue Sports Leisure Club'.-Career:...
and Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (snooker player)
-External links:**...
.
At the championship itself, he drew a first round meet with Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...
, who he defeated 10 frames to 5. Before the start of this match, Wenbo accidentally entered the arena with the match officials and had to scurry back. He subsequently got a warm ovation when he entered the arena for a second time after being introduced by MC Rob Walker. For every session thereafter, Walker introduced him as "Should he stay or should he go
Should I Stay or Should I Go
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November...
... Liang Wenbo", despite the rhyme occurring because of a mispronunciation of his name ("bo" is pronounced "boo-a" in Chinese).
Liang faced Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
's Joe Swail
Joe Swail
-External links:*...
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 laughter, Swail pointed out his mistake and the referee called Liang back to the table. In the 23rd frame, Liang, with a 12–10 lead, prematurely celebrated winning after potting match ball, only to go on to lose the frame due to a snooker. Swail came back to level the match at 12–12. In the final frame, Liang made breaks of 34 and 30 early on. He missed the final yellow but snookered Swail, leaving the white in the jaws of the pocket. Liang played a safety and Swail snookered him behind the blue, but Liang failed to hit the ball and Swail had the white replaced. Liang then hit the yellow directly. This incident proved controversial as the referee replaced the white in the wrong position, giving Liang a better sight of the yellow. At the time, Swail nodded his assent to the referee, but in a post-match interview, complained and accused Liang of unprofessional behaviour for 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 given the tension of the situation Liang could be forgiven for not thinking clearly. Liang went on to win the frame 74–34, and thus, the match 13–12.
In the quarter final Liang faced eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
. Liang took the first two frames with a break of 80 in the first. O'Sullivan levelled the match 4–4 by the end of the first session. In the second session O'Sullivan eased ahead, and went on to win 13–7.
Liang's run to the quarter-finals gained him 5000 ranking points, boosting his final ranking to number 40 in the world. This guaranteed that he would only have to play two qualifying matches to get into the main draw of the ranking tournaments.
2008/2009
Liang began the new season by qualifying for the last 48 of the Northern Ireland Trophy2008 Northern Ireland Trophy
The 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 24 and 31 August 2008 in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast....
. At the venue he then beat Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
and Peter Ebdon
Peter Ebdon
Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
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. At the Grand Prix he reached the main draw by winning 2 qualifying matches, but then succumbed to Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
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
Martin Gould
Martin Gould is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He practises at the Whetstone Snooker Club. He works part-time as a debt collector, where he picked up his nickname "Solid Gould"....
in the third qualifying round of the Bahrain Championship
2008 Bahrain Championship
The 2008 Bahrain Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 8 November and 15 November 2008 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain...
. However, he failed to qualify for the main draw, losing 2–5 to Michael Judge
Michael Judge
-External links:**...
.
For the two Chinese events on the 2008/2009 tour, Liang's two qualifying matches were held over until the venue stages. At the Shanghai Masters Wenbo defeated Atthasit Mahitthi and Mark Allen
Mark Allen (snooker player)
Mark Allen is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004. The following year he turned professional and took only three seasons to reach the elite top 16...
to reach the main draw, but lost to Ryan Day
Ryan Day
-External links:* * *...
0–5 in the first round. Ironically, his second qualifying match for the Welsh Open was held over to ensure that his Welsh opponent Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale
-External links:**...
played at the venue.
Liang ended the season at the World Championship, after defeating Dave Harold
Dave Harold
David 'Dave' Harold is an English professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter"...
10–3 in the last qualifying. He lost in the first round 8–10 against Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
.
2009/2010
In July 2009 Liang won his first professional title, the Beijing International Challenge beating world number #2 Stephen MaguireStephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
7–6 in the final.
In August 2009 he made a further breakthrough when he reached the final of the Shanghai Masters. With this he became only the second Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
player to reach a ranking final, and the fourth Asian man. He ultimately finished runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
.
Liang qualified for the Grand Prix but was defeated 5–2 by Peter Ebdon
Peter Ebdon
Peter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
in the first round, winning the first two frames and losing the last five in the succession. Prior to this meeting, Liang had played Ebdon twice and won 5–1 and 5–0.
Liang 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.
He didn't qualify for the Welsh Open and the China Open as he lost 3–5 against Michael Judge
Michael Judge
-External links:**...
and 2–5 against Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson is an English professional snooker player, currently living in Widnes. He is best known for reaching the final of the 2007 Welsh Open as a virtual unknown...
respectively.
He qualified for the World Championships by defeating Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1990. His best run in a ranking tournament was in 1996, when he reached the final of the International Open, beating World Champion Stephen Hendry 5–3 in the second round, but his run ended in the final where he lost...
10–2. He was drawn against Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
, but he lost 7–10. After the quarter-finals of the event it was clear, that Liang will ranked as number 16 in the next season
Snooker season 2010/2011
The 2010/11 snooker season is a series of snooker tournaments played during 2010 and 2011. The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.- Calendar :-New professional players:...
, the only new player entering the top 16 that season.
2010/2011
Liang had begun the season at the Wuxi Classic2010 Wuxi Classic
-Final:-Century breaks:* 134, 131 Marco Fu* 129 Mark Selby* 125, 113, 101, 100 Shaun Murphy* 108 Ding Junhui...
, where he lost in the first round of 2–5 against Marco Fu
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun , commonly known as Marco Fu, is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley. He is best known for winning the 2007 Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, and for being runner-up in the 2008 UK Championship...
. Liang participated at the Beijing International Challenge
2010 Beijing International Challenge
-Qualifying:The qualfying tournament for the Beijing International Challenge , took place between 16–18 July 2010 at the Beijing Students University Stadium, in Beijing, China.-Group A:TableResults:...
to defend his first professional title, but lost in the semi-finals 4–6 against eventual winner Tian Pengfei
Tian Pengfei
Tian Pengfei is a professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China.-Career:Tian first competed on the main tour in the 2006/2007 season, dropping off the tour in the following season....
. Liang failed to qualify for the World Open
2010 World Open (snooker)
The 2010 12bet.com World Open professional ranking snooker tournament was held at the S.E.C.C., Glasgow between 18–26 September 2010. This was the first time that the World Open was sponsored by 12bet.com....
, as he lost 1–3 against Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson
Andrew Higginson is an English professional snooker player, currently living in Widnes. He is best known for reaching the final of the 2007 Welsh Open as a virtual unknown...
and lost his first round match at the Shanghai Masters
2010 Shanghai Masters
The 2010 Roewe Shanghai Masters professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 6–12 September 2010 at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China.Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, but he has withdrawn due to personal reasons....
3–5 against Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
. Having started the season inside the top 16, his results were not enough to maintain that position and he slipped out of the top 16. After this Liang lost his qualifying matches in the five ranking tournaments.
Liang also participated at the Players Tour Championship
Players Tour Championship 2010/2011
The Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 started on 24 June 2010 and ended on 20 March 2011 with events held in Sheffield and Europe. The televised finals took place between the top 24 Order of Merit players, who have played at least 6 events ....
, his best performance coming at the third European event
Euro Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 3
-Section 2:-Section 3:-Section 4:-Section 5:-Section 6:-Section 7:-Section 8:-Finals:-Century breaks:*147 Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon*147 Mark Williams*142 Andrew Higginson*135, 116 Anthony Hamilton*133, 119, 107 Ken Doherty...
, where he reached the final, but lost 0–4 against Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell
Marcus Campbell is a Scottish professional snooker player. He lives in Erskine. He has been ranked within the worlds top 64 for 9 consecutive seasons and is currently ranked at 24.-Career:...
. After 12 out of 12 events he is ranked 14th in the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit. Liang lost his first round match at the Finals
Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Finals
-Final:-Century breaks:* 143, 111 Mark Williams* 133 Anthony Hamilton* 128 Andrew Higginson* 126 Marcus Campbell* 116 Shaun Murphy* 113 Judd Trump* 110, 102 Michael Holt* 106, 100 Martin Gould* 103, 100 Stephen Lee...
1–4 against Ricky Walden
Ricky Walden
-External links:**...
.
2011/2012
Liang and Ding JunhuiDing Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
represented China at the World Cup
2011 World Cup (snooker)
The 2011 World Cup professional non-ranking snooker tournament took place from 11 to 17 July 2011 at the World Trade Center in Bangkok, Thailand...
and they won in the final 4–2 against the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. During his match against Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
in the first round of Australian Goldfields Open
2011 Australian Goldfields Open
-Final:-Qualifying:These matches took place between 26 and 30 June 2011 at the World Snooker Academy, Sheffield, England. David Gilbert was the only player to go through all four rounds of qualifying to make it to the main stage.-Preliminary round:...
, 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. Liang won the match 5–4 to reach the second round, where he lost 4–5 against Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...
. Liang also qualified for the Shanghai Masters
2011 Shanghai Masters
The 2011 Bank of Communication Shanghai Masters professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 5–11 September 2011 at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China...
, but lost in the first round 1–5 against Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
. After this Liang couldn't qualify for the next two ranking events, as he lost 2–6 against Michael White
Michael White (snooker player)
Michael White is a Welsh professional snooker player from Neath. He is the resident professional at the Whitez Snooker Club in the Uplands, Swansea.-Early career:...
at the UK Championship
2011 UK Championship (snooker)
-Final:-Qualifying:These matches were held between 5 and 9 November 2011 at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester, England.-Preliminary round:Best of 11 frames- Round 1–4 :-Qualifying stages centuries:* 139 David Hogan* 134, 100 Sam Baird...
, and 3–5 against Liu Chuang
Liu Chuang
Liu Chuang is a Chinese professional snooker player.-Early life:Liu grew up in Liaoning province in northeast China. Near his parents' house there was a snooker table and when he was 10 he played on it and liked it a lot...
at the German Masters
2012 German Masters
-Final:-Qualifying:These matches were held between 21 and 25 November 2011 at the World Snooker Academy, Sheffield, England.-Preliminary round:Best of 9 frames- Round 1–3 :-Qualifying stages centuries:* 147 Mike Dunn* 143, 100, 100 Michael White...
.
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 2004/ 05 | 2005/ 06 | 2006/ 07 | 2007/ 08 | 2008/ 09 | 2009/ 10 | 2010/ 11 | 2011/ 12 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking Snooker world rankings The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association... |
UR Snooker world rankings 2004/2005 Snooker world rankings 2004/2005: The professional world rankings for the top 64 snooker players in the 2004/2005 season are listed below. This was Chris Small's only top 16 season, and Paul Hunter's only appearance in the top 4.-References:... |
UR Snooker world rankings 2005/2006 Snooker world rankings 2005/2006: The professional world rankings for the top 64 snooker players in the 2005/2006 season are listed below.-Note:... New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking. |
78 Snooker world rankings 2006/2007 Snooker world rankings 2006/2007: The professional world rankings for the top 64 snooker players in the 2006/2007 season are listed below.-Notes:... |
66 Snooker world rankings 2007/2008 Snooker world rankings 2007/2008: The professional world rankings for the top 75 snooker players in the 2007/2008 season are listed below... |
40 Snooker world rankings 2008/2009 Snooker world rankings 2007/2008: The official world ranking points for the 96 professional snooker players in the 2007/2008 season are listed below. The total points from the seasons 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 were used to determine the rankings for the season 2008/2009.- Ranking points :... |
27 Snooker world rankings 2009/2010 Snooker world ranking points 2008/2009: The official world ranking points for the 96 professional snooker players in the 2008/2009 season are listed below. The total points from the seasons 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 were used to determine the ranking for the season 2009/2010.- Ranking points :... |
16 Snooker world rankings 2010/2011 Snooker world rankings 2010/2011: The professional world rankings for all the professional snooker players who qualified for the 2010/2011 season are listed below. The rankings worked as a two-year rolling list. The points for each tournament two years ago were removed, when the corresponding... |
30 Snooker world rankings 2011/2012 Snooker world rankings 2011/2012: The professional world rankings for all the professional snooker players who qualified for the 2011/2012 season are listed below. The rankings work as a two-year rolling list. The points for each tournament two years ago will be removed, when the corresponding... |
||||
| Ranking Tournaments | ||||||||||||
| Australian Goldfields Open | Not Held | 2R | ||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Not Held | LQ | 1R | F | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| UK Championship UK Championship (snooker) The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:... |
A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | QF | LQ | LQ | ||||
| German Masters | Not Held | LQ | LQ | |||||||||
| Welsh Open Welsh Open (snooker) The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which started in 1980 and was only open to Welsh players.- History :... |
A | 2R | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||
| World OpenThe event run under different name as Grand Prix (1984/1985-2000/2001 and 2004/2005-2009/2010) | A | LQ | RR | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | |||||
| China Open China Open (snooker) The China Open is a professional snooker tournament. It is one of a number of ranking tournaments and began in 1997.-History:The first international snooker tournament in China was the China International in September 1997, a non-ranking tournament for the top 16 players and local players. The... The event run under different name as China International (1998/1999) |
1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | |||||
| World Championship World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England... |
A | LQ | LQ | QF | 1R | 1R | LQ | |||||
| Non-Ranking Tournaments | ||||||||||||
| The Masters Masters (snooker) The Masters is a professional snooker tournament and the second longest running tournament outside the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, earning the second biggest prize money.-History:The tournament was held... |
A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||
| Masters Qualifying Event | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | Not Held | |||||
| Premier League Snooker | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | ||||
| Former Ranking Tournaments | ||||||||||||
| British Open British Open (snooker) The British Open was a professional snooker tournament. It was a ranking tournament from 1985. The tournament has not been held since the 2004/2005 season.... |
A | Not Held | ||||||||||
| Malta Cup Malta Cup The Malta Cup was a professional snooker tournament that has been on the World Snooker calendar since the 1988/89 season. It was previously known as the European Open as the sole ranking tournament in Europe, outside the British Isles.- History :Prior to the 1988/89 season, there were no ranking... The event run under different names such as European Open (2001/2002-2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999) |
A | LQ | LQ | NR | Not Held | |||||||
| Northern Ireland Trophy Northern Ireland Trophy - History :First contested in 1981 and named Northern Ireland Classic. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the final.... |
NH | NR | A | 1R | 3R | Not Held | ||||||
| Bahrain Championship | Not Held | LQ | Not Held | |||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | lost in qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) |
| QF | advanced to but not past the quarterfinals | SF | advanced to but not past the semifinals |
| F | advanced to the final, tournament runner-up | W | won the tournament |
| DQ | disqualified from the tournament | A | did not participate in 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. | |||
Ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
EWLINE
|
Minor-ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Runner-up | 1 | 2010 | Rhein–Main Masters Euro Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 3 -Section 2:-Section 3:-Section 4:-Section 5:-Section 6:-Section 7:-Section 8:-Finals:-Century breaks:*147 Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon*147 Mark Williams*142 Andrew Higginson*135, 116 Anthony Hamilton*133, 119, 107 Ken Doherty... |
 |
0–4 |
Non-ranking event finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
EWLINE
|
Team event finals: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1 | 2011 2011 World Cup (snooker) The 2011 World Cup professional non-ranking snooker tournament took place from 11 to 17 July 2011 at the World Trade Center in Bangkok, Thailand... |
World Cup (with ) |  Northern Ireland |
4–2 |