Wu Yize is into the World Snooker Championship final at just 22 years old but it has been a long and difficult journey to make it to the Crucible showpiece.
The brilliant young talent from Lanzhou, China booked his spot in the final against Shaun Murphy thanks to a thrilling 17-16 win over Mark Allen on Saturday night.
He won the last three frames to edge out the Northern Irishman, dodging some bullets along the way as the Pistol misfired at crunch moments.
That came after victories over Lei Peifan, Mark Selby and Hossein Vafaei as Wu became a star on the Sheffield stage for the first time.
This is not entirely out of the blue, with Wu arriving at the World Championship as a seeded player, having won the International Championship earlier this season.
He has been tipped for the top for some time, taking up the game at seven and winning the IBSF Under-21 World Championship by the age of 14.
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Clearly he had immense talent, but the financial rewards were not yet there and his family took the gamble of moving to England.
His father quit his job and moved with his son to Sheffield where money was so tight that father and son shared a ‘tiny windowless room, sleeping on the same bed’ for the first two years in England.
Speaking after his quarter-final win over Vafaei, Wu said through a translator: ‘Especially the first year when I arrived in the UK to train and play I wasn’t mentally in a good place, but I’m really happy I overcame many difficulties to come to where I am today.’
Asked if homesickness was a problem, he said: ‘Indeed and also financially, because at the beginning there was not a lot of prize money. So there was definitely a lot of pressure and also there was a lot for myself to improve in terms of my game, so I was definitely feeling the pressure at the time.’
There was pressure, but there was an intense work ethic and desire to get better, as his childhood coach, Roger Leighton, explained.
The Preston-born coach is based in China and Wu was 11 when his father brought his son to be tutored by Leighton in Foshan.
‘He was a cheeky little kid at 11 years old. He was cheeky and funny,’ Leighton told Metro earlier this season. ‘His highest break was 49.
‘After a couple of weeks, his high break increased to 70-odd and then he played Chang Bingu one day, he was losing 2-0 and he came back with a 50 and an 89 break and he’d missed a long ball with the extension.
‘I was like, “Wow, that’s amazing, you’ve nearly doubled your highest break in two weeks,” but he wasn’t happy. He said to me: “It’s no good because Ronnie would have cleared up.”
‘I said, “Yeah, but you’re not Ronnie yet, are you?” That was his mentality at 11 years old. He thought, “Ronnie wouldn’t miss. Why should I miss?” It’s a good mentality to have, but it’s crazy because, he came with a highest of 49!
‘It wasn’t long after that he made his first century. And then he played Cao Yupeng, who’s been the top 30 in the world, and he beat him 5-2. This was within about four or five months. Cao was really upset.
‘He was always laughing and giggling and he’s still a bit like that now. But he’s more serious because obviously now he’s at the top, at the business end. He’s not the complete player yet, but he’s getting there.’
Wu turned professional in 2021 at 17, winning Rookie of the Year for his performances, and making his Crucible debut in 2023, where he lost to Neil Robertson.
It was impressive but incremental progress for three seasons, before he made a leap in the 2024/25 campaign, reaching two ranking finals and making his debut in elite events the Players Championship and Tour Championship, ending last season with a second Crucible trip, which Mark Williams put a swift end to.
The current season has seen him step up again, making a huge breakthrough as he won the International Championship in November, beating Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong and Barry Hawkins on his way to the final where he downed John Higgins.
The £175,000 top prize saw him soar into the top 16 and those financial troubles of the past were long behind him and his family.
A semi-final on Masters debut in January followed, with two more ranking semis this season before his superb run to the Crucible showpiece.
Still based in Sheffield when he is in the UK, Wu is on home turf and is proving to be very popular with the Crucible crowd, with the ‘Wuuu’ chant reminiscent of the reception for another home hero Joe Root, when the superstar batsman walks to the crease.
‘I’m playing in a foreign country so having the local fans and Chinese fans supporting me means a lot,’ said Wu of his growing popularity. ‘Having the support, I’m really grateful.’
While his English is limited – he conducts press conference largely through a translator – he is also very popular among his fellow players.
After defeat to Wu in the last 16, Mark Selby said: ‘He’s just enjoying it and having a great, great career so far and good luck to the boy.
‘I like him. I really like him. He’s a nice lad.’
He has also caught the eye of Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has been mentoring him, to an extent, and will be thrilled to see him have a shot at World Championship glory.
Having offered advice to Wu and practiced with him, O’Sullivan told WST in February: ‘If I like them I pass knowledge on. If I don’t they don’t get two minutes of my time. I choose the ones I feel a bit of a connection to.
‘I think Wu Yize is gong to be world number one, I’d give him three years, definitely going to be world champion very, very soon, phenomenal player.’
The Rocket hasn’t always had the best record at predicting future world champions, but he may be onto something here, and actually tipped Wu as a future Crucible king as long ago as 2022.
His opponent in the final, also fancies Wu a world champion of the future, he just hopes that future is not Monday.
‘He’s sensational, isn’t he?’ Murphy said of the first-time finalist who hammered the Magician 6-2 on Masters debut in January. ‘I tipped him to be a world champion, I think, earlier this season. He battered me at the Masters.
‘He is a wonderful, wonderful player, an absolute star. I just have to hope that this week is my week and not his.’
On how to go about beating the gun-slinging youngster, who has made breaks of 142, 140 and 135 in this event, Murphy added: ‘I’ve got no idea really.
‘I think in the words of the late, great John Virgo, I have to pot as many balls as I can.’