World champion Wu Yize beats Yuan Sijun 10-5 in Shenzhen Open final as China take top two snooker rankings
Wu Yize beat Yuan Sijun 10-5 to win the first Shenzhen Open. The win lifts him to world number two, so China now hold the top two places in the snooker rankings for the first time.
Reigning world champion Wu Yize won the first Shenzhen Open on Sunday, beating fellow Chinese player Yuan Sijun 10-5 in the final at the Bao'an Sports Centre. The 22-year-old earned £177,000 and his third ranking title in 12 months.
The result also changes the rankings. Wu moves up to world number two behind Zhao Xintong, so for the first time in professional snooker history the top two players in the world are both from China.
How the final played out
Wu began well, making a break of 117 in the opening frame. Yuan, playing in his first ranking final, then won three frames in a row to lead 4-3 midway through the afternoon session.
The lead did not last. Wu made a clearance of 59 in the eighth frame to level the match, then won the last two frames of the session to lead 5-4 at the interval. In the evening he took control and won most of the remaining frames, finishing the 10-5 win with a run in which he took seven of the last eight frames.
Shenzhen is in the same time zone as Malaysia, so fans in Malaysia could watch the afternoon and evening sessions at normal local times.
Wu's run to the title
Wu had two hard wins on his way to the final. He beat Shaun Murphy 5-4 in the quarter-finals and then beat Judd Trump 6-1 in the semi-finals.
He has won a lot in a short time. His first ranking title came at the 2025 International Championship, where he beat John Higgins in the final. He then won the 2026 World Championship at the Crucible, beating Murphy in the final, and Shenzhen is his third title. It is also the second all-Chinese ranking final of the season.
A big week for Yuan Sijun
Yuan, 26, beat Jimmy Robertson 6-5 in the semi-finals to reach his first ranking final. As runner-up he earns £76,000, a large amount compared with what he had won before in his career, and he is expected to rise to a career-high world ranking of 26.
He made a strong start in the final but could not keep it going after the interval.
A new event on the calendar
The Shenzhen Open ran from 28 September to 4 October. It replaces the Xi'an Grand Prix on the World Snooker Tour, and Mark Williams, the 2025 Xi'an champion, came in as the top seed. The total prize fund was £850,000.
It was the sixth ranking event of the 2026-27 season. The next event is the Northern Ireland Open. Zhao still leads the rankings, but Wu is now less than £27,000 behind him, so the race for world number one is close.
Key takeaways
- Wu Yize beat Yuan Sijun 10-5 in the first Shenzhen Open final on 4 October and won £177,000.
- It is Wu's third ranking title in 12 months, after the 2025 International Championship and the 2026 World Championship.
- Wu rises to world number two, so Chinese players hold the top two places for the first time.
- Yuan reached his first ranking final after beating Jimmy Robertson 6-5 in the semi-finals.
FAQ
Who won the 2026 Shenzhen Open snooker? World champion Wu Yize won. He beat Yuan Sijun 10-5 in the final at the Bao'an Sports Centre in Shenzhen on 4 October 2026.
Who are the top two players in the snooker world rankings now? Zhao Xintong is world number one and Wu Yize is number two. It is the first time two Chinese players have held the top two places.
Is the Shenzhen Open a new tournament? Yes. This was the first edition. It replaces the Xi'an Grand Prix on the World Snooker Tour calendar.
Sources: SnookerHQ, Totally Snookered, World Snooker Tour, Etusuora, Wikipedia