Super Si Wins WSF Championship
Si Jiahui has defeated Lee Stephens 5-0 to win the 2022 WSF Championship at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy in Sheffield.
The 19-year-old becomes the third champion at the prestigious event, which received a record number of entries with over 270 players in the draw from 42 different countries. Si follows in the footsteps of inaugurual champion Luo Honghao (2018) and most recent winner Ashley Hugill (2020) and will be rewarded with a two-year place on the World Snooker Tour from the start of the 2022/23 season.
The Chinese talent previously competed on the professional circuit from 2019-2021 and this season he currently leads the WPBSA Q Tour Rankings following three of the four events, having won one tournament and reached a further final. He also gained a notable victory at the UK Championship last November, defeating former champion Shaun Murphy in the opening round.
Having won six of his seven matches to qualify for the quarter-finals, Si underlined his talent throughout the final day by scoring four century breaks, with a further five breaks over 50 on his way to the title. In his semi-final victory against Michael White he was given a stern test by the former two-time ranking event champion, recovering a 1-3 deficit with runs of 101, 132 and 67 to progress to the title match a 4-3 winner.
Awaiting him would be England’s Lee Stephens, who enjoyed surely the most impressive week of his career as he claimed several notable scalps including former professionals Leo Fernandez and Daniel Wells on his way to the final.
As in 2018, however, the decisive match would prove to be a one-sided affair as Si ran out a 5-0 winner with top breaks of 104 and 63, outscoring his opponent 443-67 over the course of the final.
Alongside WSF Junior Championship winner Anton Kazakov, Si will now return to the World Snooker Tour from the start of next season and will be looking to maintain the consistent form that he has displayed throughout this season at both professional and amateur events. He was presented with both the trophy and his formal invitation to the professional circuit by WSF President Jason Ferguson and Vice President Nigel Mawer QPM.
