Si Jiahui has won the 2022 WSF Championship after a 5-0 thrashing of Lee Stephens in the final in Sheffield on Saturday.
The 19 year-old from China compiled breaks of 104 and 63 in a dominant display that earns him a two-year tour card for the professional Main Tour.
Si lost one of his round-robin fixtures and only qualified for the knockout phase in second place out of his group.
The teenager subsequently needed all five frames to deny Simon Bedford in the first knockout round, but after that Si’s confidence quickly grew.
Only one more frame was lost before the semi-finals as he overcame the likes of Michael Collumb, John Astley, and James Cahill with whitewash scorelines.
A high-quality battle with two-time former ranking event winner Michael White ensued, with the pair trading blow for blow in an attack fest.
White established a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven fixture with a magnificent 141 total clearance, but Si responded with back-to-back centuries of his own before a 67 in the decider sealed his berth in the title decider.
Stephens, who had accounted for Leo Fernandez and Daniel Wells in the earlier rounds, couldn’t produce anywhere near his best in the final as Si romped to glory.
The 2022 WSF Championship victory for Si means he’ll bounce straight back to the World Snooker Tour after being relegated following his first stint between 2019 and 2021.
Big big congratulations for our academy player Si jiahui for winning 2022 WSF Championship! Same day as Fan Zhengyi into European master final! And you made the final so easy considering there are nearly 300 players from all over the world! pic.twitter.com/4DCCxT3oJV
— Vic Snooker Academy (@Vics_Snooker) February 26, 2022
Si made headlines in November when, as an amateur, he knocked out Shaun Murphy in the first round of the UK Championship.
Murphy afterwards slammed the decision to allow amateurs to compete in professional tournaments and faced an immediate backlash.
It’s pretty clear, however, that Si boasts talent above and beyond that of an amateur, and this silverware represents yet more success for the incredible Victoria Snooker Academy.
The magnificent club in Sheffield also houses Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, and Sunday’s European Masters finalist Fan Zhengyi.
Next season, Si will have the opportunity to join his emerging peers in the latter stages of ranking events.
For the World Snooker Federation, it was a successful staging of the competition with almost 300 competitors from dozens of different countries participating at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy.
A few different things have hindered the WSF’s progress in recent years, but it’s undeniable that its flagship event now represents the biggest prize on offer in international amateur snooker.
Featured photo credit: WSF
