Fan Zhengyi

Fan Zhengyi (born 27 January 2001) is a Chinese professional snooker player.

Fan Zhengyi
Born (2001-01-27) 27 January 2001
Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Sport country China
NicknameNumber One
Professional2018–
Highest ranking91 (Dec 2019)
Current ranking 124 (as of 1 February 2021)
Career winnings£38,150
Highest break98:
2020 UK Championship
Century breaks0
Best ranking finishLast 32 (2019 English Open)

Career

Fan started playing snooker at the age of 5 in Harbin. Just one year later he finished 5th in the National Youth Pool Championships. When he was 8 he finished 3rd in the National Youth Snooker Championships.[1] A trip to Singapore at the age of 14 saw him reach the final of the 2015 Cuesports Singapore Snooker Open, losing to experienced local player Marvin Lim 5-3, after taking a 2-0 lead. [2]

Early career

In July 2017, Fan won five out of the last six frames to beat top seed Luo Honghao 7–6 and win the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship at the tournament held in China. With this victory he was awarded a two-year Main Tour card for the professional snooker tour.[3][4]

He competed at the 2018 World Snooker Team Cup representing China with Zhang Jiankang but they lost to India 2–3 in the Round of 16.[5]

2018/2019

At just 17, Fan was the youngest player on the professional tour in 2018-19. His first match was a 4-1 loss to Jack Lisowski in the Riga Masters, and his first win was against his practice partner Lyu Haotian 6-5 in the International Championship. However, he could only manage one further win in the remainder of the season, which finished in a 10-5 loss to Chris Wakelin in the World Championship.

2019/2020

Fan played in the 2019 China National Championship in Xi'an, seeded number 3, but lost in the 3rd round to Jin Long 4-2. He did however achieve the highest break in the competition of 143.

Fan's best performance in the 2019-20 season came in the English Open. After a close win against Riley Parsons 4-3, he faced Chris Wakelin. At 3-3 the match ended on a respotted black in the final frame. After easy misses by both players Fan potted it to reach the last-32 for the first time. His run was ended by Shaun Murphy 4-0.

In subsequent tournaments Fan had further victories against Zhou Yuelong and Peter Lines. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the snooker season was suspended. Fan Zhengyi was one of only 4 Chinese players to stay in the UK, but was unable to practice due to lockdown restrictions. He played in the rescheduled World Championship, and beat amateur Dylan Emery 6-4 in the first round. He produced a fine attacking display in the second round against Dominic Dale, but eventually lost 6-4 after having led 4-3. Thus his season finished ranked 92, which meant he was relegated from the tour.

In an attempt to regain his Tour Card, Fan entered Q School. With 7 wins and no losses he was successful, beating two-time ranking event winner Michael White 4-2 in the final round.

Technique

Fan has a very unusual technique. He is very left-eye dominant, and when playing the shot, his cue is to the left of his head. Before turning professional, he was a member of the Wiraka Snooker Academy and was coached by Roger Leighton.[6]

Personal

Fan was also a promising table tennis player, but decided to concentrate on snooker. He is also a cat-lover. During the season, he lives in Sheffield and practices at the Victoria Academy.[7]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 2016/
17		 2017/
18		 2018/
19		 2019/
20		 2020/
21
Ranking[8][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 92 [nb 4]
Ranking tournaments
European Masters A A LQ LQ 1R
English Open A A 1R 3R 1R
Championship League Non-Ranking Event RR
Northern Ireland Open A A 1R 1R 1R
UK Championship A A 1R 2R 1R
Scottish Open A A 1R 1R 1R
World Grand Prix DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters A A LQ LQ LQ
Shoot-Out A A 1R 1R 1R
Welsh Open A A 1R 2R
Players Championship DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open A A 2R 1R
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR
Tour Championship Not Held DNQ DNQ
World Championship A A LQ LQ
Former ranking tournaments
Indian Open A A LQ Not Held
China Open 1R LQ LQ Not Held
Riga Masters A A LQ LQ NH
International Championship A LQ 1R LQ NH
China Championship NR LQ LQ LQ NH
World Open A LQ LQ LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Ranking 1R A NH
Haining Open 2R QF 2R A NH
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 Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. He was an amateur.
  3. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  4. Players qualified through Q School started the season without ranking points.

Career finals

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2017 ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship Yuan Sijun 2–6
Winner 1. 2017 World Under-21 Snooker Championship Luo Honghao 7–6

References
  1. "Snooker life of an eight-year-old Harbin boy". 10 December 2009.
  2. "Singapore Snooker Open 2015 Results". 12 November 2015.
  3. "Fan Zhengyi Wins World Under-21 Championship - SnookerHQ". 17 July 2017.
  4. News, Blasting. "China's youth dominates the top amateur snooker scene".
  5. "World Snooker Team Cup: India in Doha semis - The Peninsula Qatar". www.thepeninsulaqatar.com.
  6. "Snooker coach Roger has China in his hands".
  7. "Fan Thrilled to Bounce Back".
  8. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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