| Born | 21 April 2004 Taishan, Guangdong, China [1] |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  China |
| Professional | 2023–present |
| Highest ranking | 53 (September 2025) |
| Current ranking | 59 (as of 22 December 2025) |
| Best ranking finish | Semi-final (2023 English Open) |
Liu Hongyu (Chinese :刘宏宇; born 21 April 2004) is a Chinese snooker player. He won the APBSF Asia-Pacific Championship on 1 May 2023 to qualify for the World Snooker Tour, on a two-year card, starting from the 2023–24 snooker season.
In June 2021, at the Chinese national team championship he played as a member of Dongguan Team under coach Jin Di alongside team members Zhao Hanyang and Liang Xiaolong. [3] At the 2022 Q School first event defeated Belgian Ben Mertens which included a break of 137. [4] He also scored centuries in Q school against Alfie Lee, and a 134 against Andy Milliard. [5]
In February 2023 he lost in the quarter finals to eventual winner Ma Hailong at the WSF Championship in Sydney, Australia. [6] During the tournament he had impressed with his high scoring, including breaks of 138 and 133. [7]
In April 2023 Liu lost in the final of the first CBSA World Snooker Tour qualifying tournament to Jiang Jun. [8] The following month he won the Asia-Pacific Championship with a 6-1 win in the final against Yuchen Wang to be the APBSF Asia Pacific qualifier on to the World Snooker Tour for the 2023-24 snooker season, on a two-year card. [9] [10]
He started the 2023-24 season with the 2023 Championship League held at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England from 26 June 2023. [11] With victories over Ricky Walden, David Lilley and Peng Yisong, Liu topped his group at the Championship League on his tour debut. [12] In the second stage round-robin, he lost to Noppon Saengkham before beating Ashley Carty and drawing with Daniel Wells to finish as runner-up in the group to Saengkham. [13] He earned another professional win on 17 August 2023, at the British Open qualifying in Leicester, with a 4-1 win over Baipat Siripaporn. [14] He qualified for the 2023 European Masters, held in Germany, but had to pull out of the event when an issue with his visa prevented his travel. [15]
In October 2023, at the English Open, he came from 3-1 down to defeat former World Champion Shaun Murphy 4-3. [16] He followed this up with credible wins over ranking event finalist Joe O'Connor and former snooker shoot-out winner Chris Wakelin before defeating another former world champion Mark Williams to reach his first ranking event quarter-final. He then triumphed over compatriot Ding Junhui to reach his first ranking semi-final, [17] before losing to Zhang Anda by 2-6. [18] In December 2023, he recorded a second win of the season over Shaun Murphy, winning 4-1 at the Scottish Open. [19] He qualified for the 2024 German Masters in Berlin with a 5-0 whitewash over the experienced Dominic Dale. [20]
In the qualifying round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship he defeated Jimmy White 10-3. [21] [22]
He reached the fourth round of the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters with a 4-1 win over Ricky Walden. [23] At the 2024 English Open in Brentwood in September 2024 he reached the last 64 where he was defeated on a deciding frame by Judd Trump. [24] [25] He reached the last-64 at the 2024 Northern Ireland Open. [26]
He started the 2025-26 season in June 2025 in the qualifying round for the Wuhan Open with a creditable win over established professional Ian Burns. [27] That month, he recorded a 4-0 whitewash win over Ng On-yee in British Open qualifying. [28] He then topped his group in the round-robin stage of the 2025 Championship League against Ian Burns, Patrick Whelan and Noppon Saengkham. [29] [30] He reached the last-64 at the 2025 Wuhan Open where he lost to world number one Judd Trump. [31] At the 2025 International Championship in Nanjing he lost a close match 6-5 against former world champion Mark Selby in the last-64. [32] He also lost on a deciding frame against Shaun Murphy in the last-64 at the 2025 Scottish Open. [33]
| Tournament | 2023/ 24 | 2024/ 25 | 2025/ 26 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking [nb 1] | [nb 2] | 67 | 56 | ||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| Championship League | 2R | RR | 2R | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia Masters | NH | 5R | 3R | ||||||
| Wuhan Open | LQ | LQ | 1R | ||||||
| English Open | SF | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| British Open | 1R | LQ | 1R | ||||||
| Xi'an Grand Prix | NH | LQ | LQ | ||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | LQ | 1R | LQ | ||||||
| International Championship | LQ | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| UK Championship | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||
| Shoot Out | 1R | 1R | 2R | ||||||
| Scottish Open | 2R | LQ | 1R | ||||||
| German Masters | 1R | 1R | LQ | ||||||
| World Grand Prix | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||
| Players Championship | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||
| Welsh Open | LQ | LQ | |||||||
| World Open | 1R | 3R | |||||||
| Tour Championship | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||
| World Championship | LQ | LQ | |||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| European Masters | WD | Not Held | |||||||
| 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 Held | means an event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
