Li Hang
Paul Hunter Classic 2016
Born (1990-10-04) October 4, 1990 (age 33)
Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
Sport country China
Professional2008–2010, 2013–2023
Highest ranking28 (April 2019)
Century breaks111
Best ranking finishSemi-final (x2)

Li Hang (Chinese: 李行; pinyin: Lǐ Háng; born 4 October 1990) is a Chinese former professional snooker player who, in 2023, was permanently banned from the sport after committing a range of match-fixing offences. Li first competed professionally during the 2008–09 season. His best performances during his professional career were reaching two ranking semi-finals. He reached a career high of 28th in the snooker world rankings in 2019.

In December 2022, the WPBSA suspended Li from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation.[1] In January 2023, it charged him with fixing a match, being concerned in fixing matches, approaching a player to fix a match, seeking to obstruct the investigation, and betting on snooker matches. Following an independent disciplinary tribunal, Li received a lifetime ban from the sport.[2]

Career

Early years

Li was entered into the wildcard round of the China Open as an amateur player for three consecutive years from 2006. He lost at this stage in 2006 and 2008, but in 2007 he beat Ian Preece 5–4 to reach the first round of a ranking event for the first time, where he lost 1–5 to 1997 world champion Ken Doherty.[3] In April 2008, Li won the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship with a 6–1 success over Li Yuan in the final. The title earned him a place on the 2008–09 snooker tour.[4]

Professional debut

His first tournament as a professional was the 2008 Jiangsu Classic, where he finished last in his group, although he managed to beat the 2008 World Championship runner-up Ali Carter 2–0.[5] In qualifying for the first ranking event of the year, the Northern Ireland Trophy, Li beat Robert Stephen 5–1 and David Morris 5–4 to reach the last qualifying round, where he was defeated 2–5 by Andrew Higginson.[6] This was the closest he came to reaching the main stage of a tournament during the season, with it ending when Li lost 9–10 to Daniel Wells in the second round of World Championship qualifying.[7] Li finished the year ranked world number 71.[8]

2009/2010 season

Li entered qualifying for five of the six ranking events during the 2009–10 season, losing in the first round in the UK Championship, China Open and World Championship.[9] At the Grand Prix he saw off Brendan O'Donoghue and David Roe both by last frame deciders, before losing 3–5 to Mark Davis.[10] Li enjoyed his best run in qualifying for the Welsh Open, reaching the final round by eliminating Ian Preece, Jin Long and Mike Dunn, but was then beaten 4–5 by Fergal O'Brien.[9] However, his performances were not enough for him to retain his place on tour as he finished the season ranked 81st in the world, outside of the top 64 who remained.[11]

Wildcard years

Competing as an amateur after losing his place on the main tour, Li could not enter qualifying for any ranking events. In the next three seasons he was placed into the wildcard round for five events in his homeland of China. The best run of his career to date came in the 2011 China Open by beating Ken Doherty 5–1 in the wildcard round and Graeme Dott 5–4 in the first round.[12] By facing Shaun Murphy in the second round he played his third former world champion in succession and led 3–1 before being edged out 4–5.[13] He also reached the first round the following year, but was whitewashed 0–5 by Mark Selby.[14] In 2011 and 2012 Li entered Qualifying School in an attempt to win back his place on the tour, but was unsuccessful on each occasion.[12][14] In the 2012–13 season Li entered all three of the new minor-ranking Asian Players Tour Championship events. He lost in the first round of the opener and the second round of the next, but then produced a fantastic result at Event 3.[15] He won three matches to reach the quarter-finals and then beat compatriot Zhang Anda 4–2 and established top 32 player Robert Milkins 4–1 in the semis.[15] In his first final in a professional event Li faced Stuart Bingham and raced into a 3–1 lead with a high break of 83 before his opponent came back to win the last three frames to edge the match 4–3.[16] The result saw him finish fourth on the Asian Order of Merit, inside the top eight who qualified for the 2013–14 snooker tour.[17] It also gave him a place in the PTC Finals, but he lost 0–4 to Barry Hawkins in the first round.[15]

Li Hang at 2014 German Masters

Rejoining the tour

Li beat Mark Joyce in his opening match of the 2013–14 season to reach the first round of the Wuxi Classic where he made three breaks over 50 to establish a 3–0 lead over world number three Judd Trump and went on to seal a 5–2 win, the best of his career so far.[18] He was edged out 5–4 by compatriot Xiao Guodong in the following round.[19] At the UK Championship, Li beat David Gilbert and Andrew Higginson both by 6–4 scorelines to face world number one Neil Robertson in the last 32.[20] Li gave the Australian a competitive game but lost 6–3, with Robertson stating afterwards that Li was much better than his ranking suggested and that his safety play had particularly impressed him.[21] Li also qualified for the German Masters and China Open but lost 5–3 to ranking event winners Barry Hawkins and Marco Fu.[20] Li whitewashed former world champion Peter Ebdon at the Welsh Open, before being beaten 4–1 by Anthony Hamilton in the last 64.[20] Li was ranked world number 85 at the end of the season.[22]

2014/2015 season

Li won four matches at the Yixing Open, before losing 4–3 to Michael Holt in the quarter-finals. He defeated Nigel Bond, David Morris and Mark Joyce all by 5–2 scorelines to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, where he was beaten 5–3 by Stuart Bingham in the first round.[23] At the International Championship, Li thrashed four-time world champion John Higgins 6–1 and Zhao Xintong also 6–1 to reach the last 16.[24] A third 6–1 result followed, however it was Li's opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan who recorded it to end his tournament.[25] Compatriot Liang Wenbo eliminated Li 5–1 in the first round of the German Masters. His second last 16 match in a ranking event came at the Indian Open thanks to wins over Allan Taylor and Stuart Carrington, but he lost 4–2 to Michael White.[23] Following 10–1 and 10–7 victories over Chris Melling and Gary Wilson he stood one win away from qualifying for the World Championship for the first time. Li held 3–0 and 8–5 leads over Carrington but would ultimately lose 10–9.[26] He ended a season inside the top 64 in the rankings for the first time as he was 55th.[27]

2015/2016 season

Li lost in the qualifying rounds for the first three ranking events of the 2015–16 season. A pair of 6–5 victories over Lee Walker and Ricky Walden saw him advance to the third round of the UK Championship, where he lost 6–3 to Jamie Burnett. Li was knocked out in the second round of the Welsh Open by Joe Perry and the only other ranking event he qualified for was the China Open, but he was beaten 5–3 by Walker in the first round.[28]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournaments 2005/
06 		2006/
07 		2007/
08 		2008/
09 		2009/
10 		2010/
11 		2011/
12 		2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23
Rankings[29][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 71 [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 85 55 52 58 36 29 44 38 48
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R A RR
European Masters[nb 4] A A NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R 1R WD
British Open Tournament Not Held 2R 1R
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R 4R 2R 1R LQ 3R
UK Championship A A A LQ LQ A A A 3R 1R 3R 1R 4R 2R 4R 3R 2R LQ
Scottish Open Tournament Not Held MR Tournament Not Held 3R 3R 1R 2R SF QF LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R LQ
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR DNQ DNQ 1R DNQ 1R 1R DNQ DNQ
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 4R 1R QF 3R WD 1R A
German Masters Tournament Not Held A A A 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ WD
Welsh Open A A A LQ LQ A A A 2R 2R 2R 1R WD 1R 1R 1R 1R A
Players Championship[nb 5] Tournament Not Held A A 1R DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
WST Classic Tournament Not Held A
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship A A A LQ LQ A A A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R A LQ LQ A
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters A A A LQ A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Championship League Not Held A A A A A A A A A A A A A RR A A
Six-red World Championship[nb 6] Tournament Not Held A A A NH RR A A A A A A A Not Held A
Former ranking tournaments
Northern Ireland Trophy NR A A LQ Tournament Not Held
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event WR 2R LQ Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open Tournament Not Held A A LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters Not Held A LQ WD WR WR A LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held
Paul Hunter Classic Pro-am Event Minor-Ranking Event 3R A A NR Tournament Not Held
Indian Open Tournament Not Held LQ 3R NH LQ 1R QF Tournament Not Held
China Open WR 1R WR LQ LQ 2R 1R A 1R LQ 1R 2R LQ 3R Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held Minor-Ranking 2R LQ 2R QF Tournament Not Held
International Championship Tournament Not Held A LQ 3R LQ 2R 2R 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR SF LQ 2R Tournament Not Held
World Open Tournament Not Held A A A LQ Not Held LQ QF LQ 1R Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Not Held
Turkish Masters Tournament Not Held LQ NH
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR A 2R A 4R 1R WD NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Beijing International Challenge Tournament Not Held A LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held RR RR A A Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
Shoot Out Tournament Not Held A A A A A 2R Ranking Event
Haining Open Tournament Not Held Minor-Ranking F 4R F F NH 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 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.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ a b c d e f He was an amateur
  3. ^ a b New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  4. ^ The event was called the Malta Cup (2005/2006–2007/2008)
  5. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
  6. ^ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  7. ^ a b The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  8. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

Career finals

Minor-ranking finals: 1

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2012 Zhengzhou Open England Stuart Bingham 3–4

Non-ranking finals: 4

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2005 HK Spring Trophy China Jin Long #
Runner-up 2. 2016 Haining Open England Matthew Selt 3–5
Runner-up 3. 2018 Haining Open (2) England Mark Selby 4–5
Runner-up 4. 2019 Haining Open (3) Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3–5

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2008 ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship China Li Yuan 6–1
Runner-up 1. 2010 IBSF World Under-21 Championship England Sam Craigie 8–9

References

  1. ^ "UK Championship winner Zhao latest to be suspended". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  2. ^ Huart, Matt (2023-01-18). "WPBSA Statement | 18 January 2023". WPBSA. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  3. ^ "Star Dragon Woods Villa Cup China Open 2006". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
    "Honghe Industrial China Open 2007". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
    "Honghe Industrial China Open 2008". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. ^ "2008 Asian Under 21 Snooker Championship". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. ^ "2008 Guolian Securities Jiangsu Snooker Classic". Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
  6. ^ "Northern Ireland Trophy 2008 – Qualifying Results". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  7. ^ "2009 World Championship Results". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  8. ^ "World Rankings 2009/2010". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Li Hang 2009/2010". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  10. ^ "Grand Prix Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  11. ^ Ardalen, Hermund (2010). "Provisional World Rankings 2010/2011". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Li Hang 2010/2011". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  13. ^ "China Open 2011 - Last 16 & Quarter-final Results". Maximum Snooker. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Li Hang 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  15. ^ a b c "Li Hang 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Bingham On Top In Zhengzhou". World Snooker. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Asian Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Trump and Allen knocked out in China". RTÉ.ie. 18 June 2013.
  19. ^ "Wuxi Classic 2013: Schedule and results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  20. ^ a b c "Li Hang 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  21. ^ "UK Snooker: Joe Perry warned to expect no favours from pal Neil Robertson". The Press. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  22. ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Li Hang 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  24. ^ "International Championship: John Higgins beaten by Li Hang". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  25. ^ "International Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Li Hang to reach quarter-finals". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  26. ^ "Sweet 16 Through To Sheffield". World Snooker. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  27. ^ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Li Hang 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  29. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

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