| Chen Zifan | |
| Birth Date: | 17 September 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Xi'an, Shaanxi, China |
| Professional: | 2017–2023 |
| High Ranking: | 76 (May 2021) |
| Best Finish: | Last 16 (x1) |
Chen Zifan (; born 17 September 1995) is a Chinese professional snooker player who, in 2023, received a five-year ban from professional competition after committing match-fixing offences.
In December 2022, Chen was suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation.[1] In January 2023, he was charged with fixing matches on the tour.[2] In June 2023, he was banned from professional competition until 20 December 2027.[3]
Chen Zifan started to play snooker aged 10, helped by his uncle, who ran a club in Xi'an. At first, his parents were reluctant, but after showing great talent, they allowed him to quit mainstream school at the age of 11 to concentrate on snooker. In 2008, Chen won third place in Chinese National Junior Championship.[4] [5]
Coached by former professional Liu Song, he began playing in minor-ranking Asian Players Tour Championship events. In 2012 he reached the last 64 in the Event 1 in Zhangjiagang where he lost 4–2 to Michael White.[6]
In 2013, he won the China Youth Championship, beating Lu Ning. His strong results in junior tournaments earned him a wildcard appearance at the World Open. There he defeated Sanderson Lam before losing 5–0 to Judd Trump in the last 64. He was also a wildcard at the China Open, where he was defeated 5–2 by compatriot Yu Delu. He also qualified for the 2016 International Championship, defeating professional Tian Pengfei 6–3, and only narrowly losing in the first round to 6–5 to Liang Wenbo.[7]
He moved to Shenzhen, where he was coached by Roger Leighton at the Wiraka Academy.
Between 2014 and 2017, Chen came very close to professional qualification. He finished 5th on the Asian Order of Merit in 2014-15 and 3rd in the Chinese amateur rankings in 2015-16 - in both cases just one place short of qualification. He also had an unsuccessful attempt at the 2016 Q School. Chen described these near-misses as 'very painful'.[8] [5]
Chen Zifan finally turned professional for the 2017–18 season after defeating Ben Jones 4–1 in the final round of the second event of the 2017 Q School.[9]
Chen's first match as a professional resulted in a 4–2 win over Ross Muir to qualify for the Riga Masters. However, a VISA problem meant he was unable to travel to the main competition. He followed this with a 5–3 win over Dominic Dale in the China Championship. His best wins of the season were against Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy.
Chen's first World Championship was a major disappointment. After the first session he trailed 9–0 against Noppon Saengkham. On resumption he won a respotted black to avoid the whitewash, punched the table in relief, and was warned by the referee. Saengkham won the match 10–1. Chen finished the season ranked 105.
Chen's second season was a disaster. He won only 3 of his 20 matches, including 2 against amateurs. But he again beat Barry Hawkins (in the Northern Ireland Open). He finished the season ranked 101 and was relegated from the tour.
Chen came through the second event of the 2019 Q School dropping only 3 frames in his six matches to earn a new two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.[10]
At the Riga Masters Chen reached the last-16 for the first time by beating Andres Petrov and Ben Woollaston. He then lost to Yan Bingtao.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, the snooker season was suspended and Chen returned to China. Facing a multitude of travel and administrative hurdles, Chen did not return until the start of the next season, missing the World Championship. He finished the season ranked 105.
Chen's best performance was a run to the 3rd round of the UK Championship, after 6-5 victories over Yuan Sijun and Yan Bingtao. He then lost 6–1 to Anthony McGill, but the ranking points gained played a major part in his tour survival. The following week at the Scottish Open he lost 4–0 to Mark King without potting a single ball.
At the World Championship, he needed a win to ensure professional survival via the 1-year list. This he achieved by beating Mitchell Mann 6–5, once again punching the table. He then lost 6–1 to Stuart Bingham. Chen finished the season ranked 76.
During the season, Chen Zifan lives in Sheffield where he practices at the Victoria Snooker Academy, managed by Victoria Shi.
| Tournament | 2012/ 13 | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | 2019/ 20 | 2020/ 21 | 2021/ 22 | 2022/ 23 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[11] [12] | [13] | [14] | 81 | [15] | 79 | [16] | 92 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | RR | RR | RR | |||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters | Tournament Not Held | A | 2R | LQ | LQ | 2R | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | 2R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | LQ | 1R | |||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | LQ | ||||||||||||
| Scottish Open | MR | Tournament Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | ||||||||||||||
| English Open | Tournament Not Held | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | |||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Not Held | NR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking Event | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | WD | 1R | A | |||||||||||||||
| German Masters | A | A | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | A | ||||||||||||
| Players Championship | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | A | A | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | A | ||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Six-red World Championship | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | WD | |||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuxi Classic | A | A | 1R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | A | A | WR | WR | WR | LQ | Non-Ranking | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | Minor-Ranking Event | A | A | 2R | NR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | NH | A | A | NH | A | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||
| China Open | A | WR | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters | Not Held | Minor-Ranking | A | WD | LQ | 3R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | A | A | A | WR | 1R | LQ | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||
| China Championship | Tournament Not Held | NR | 1R | LQ | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||
| World Open | A | 1R | A | NH | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 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 | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | NH | ||||||||||||||
| Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haining Open | Not Held | Minor-Ranking | 2R | A | A | A | NH | A | NH | ||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw |
| 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. | ||||