Kenneth Yuan-Ke Cheng (born 1988/1989) is a British-Chinese professional poker player and comedian noted for reaching the final of the 2015 BBC New Comedy Awards.[1] [2]
Cheng studied mathematics at Homerton College, Cambridge,[3] but dropped out to become a professional poker player.
He wrote and performed for the Cambridge Footlights, often known to refer to himself as a 'footlights regular', and he has also taken his stand-up performances to the Edinburgh Festival. Cheng directed The Footlights International Tour Show 2015: Love Handles, which toured the UK, Paris and North America.[4] [5]
Reviewing the 2015 BBC New Comedy Awards for the comedy news, reviews and listings site Chortle, Steve Bennett stated that Cheng "deserved to win".[6]
In 2017 Cheng won "Joke of the Fringe" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[7]
In September 2017 a Twitter thread insulting the national flag of every country in the world received national media coverage.[8]
Cheng was born in Cambridge to mother Xin, a Mandarin interpreter, and father Jen, who works in software and whose parents were from Hong Kong.[9] His great-grandfather on his mother's side was academic and playwright Hsiung Shih-I.[10]