Liu Chuang
Encyclopedia
Liu Chuang (born 6 June 1990) is a 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...
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.
Early life
Liu grew up in LiaoningLiaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
province in northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
. Near his parents' house there was a snooker table and when he was 10 he played on it and liked it a lot. His father noticed his potential, and supported him as did the person who owned that table, who became his first coach.
When he was 13 Liu, travelled thousands of miles to play in southern China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
, where there were more professionals. There he improved and began to play competitive matches. In 2007, the chairman of the Asian Snooker Association saw his potential, and he gained a wild card in the China Open.
Junior
In 2005, Liu was a runner-up in a national junior tournament in China. In 2006, Liu reached the final of a senior national tournament.Senior
Liu first came to the attention of the snooker world when he was picked as a wildcard to enter the 2007 China Open. Liu was victorious over Andy HicksAndy Hicks
Andy Hicks is an English professional snooker player currently from Cornwall. Hicks, nicknamed "The Cream of Devon", has been a World Snooker Championship semi-finalist and was ranked within the worlds top 32 for many seasons but has never broken into the top 16.-Career:Although a professional...
, beating him 5–4. That set up a meeting with Liu's idol, 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...
; Liu lost the match 1–5.
He reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 Asian Snooker Championship, where he lost 4–5 to Yasin Merchant
Yasin Merchant
Yasin Merchant, born 17 December 1966 is India's first professional snooker player. He was won the National Snooker championships on 3 occasions, in 2001, 2000 and 1991...
.
In the 2008 World Championship he qualified for the main stage, He beat Colin Mitchell 10–0, Lee Walker
Lee Walker
Lee Walker is a Welsh professional snooker player.Walker reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship in 1997, with victories over Dave Harold 10–7 and Alan McManus 13–10, before he lost 13–8 to Alain Robidoux...
10–9 Joe Delaney 10–5, David Gray 10–5, and then Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale
-External links:**...
10–9 to become only the fourth 17-year-old player to qualify for the Crucible after 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...
, 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...
and Judd Trump
Judd Trump
Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open...
. Liu was drawn to play O'Sullivan in the first round. Despite being 0–3 down, Liu came back in the first session and levelled at 4–4, before O'Sullivan eventually won the game 10–5. Liu was relegated from the Main Tour after the following season.
On 15 April 2010, he won the Asian Under 21 Snooker Championship, after defeating Thanawat Tirapaipongboon 10–5 in the final. With this he qualified for the 2010/2011 professional Main Tour.
From the 2010/11 season, Liu is managed by Grove Leisure and practices at the Grove Academy in Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.