Wu Yize Joins an Elite Club — But Can You Name Every World Final Since 2000?
The Youngest, the Boldest, and the 21st Name on the List
There was a moment late in Wu Yize's semi-final against Mark Allen when the Crucible seemed to hold its breath. The young Chinese potter, still only in his early twenties, was navigating pressure that would buckle most seasoned professionals — and he didn't just survive it, he thrived. By the time the final colours disappeared into their pockets, Wu had done something that only twenty other players have managed since the year 2000: booked a place in the World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
It is a list that reads like a who's who of the modern game. Ronnie O'Sullivan, a man who has made the final feel almost routine across his storied career, sits near the top of any honest tally. Mark Selby, the relentless Leicester grinder who turned grit into a three-time world title. John Higgins, whose languid cue action conceals a ruthless tactical mind. Mark Williams, twice a champion and still capable of the sort of performance that makes you wonder why anyone ever doubted him. These are the giants whose names trip off the tongue easily enough. But the full list of twenty? That's where it gets interesting — and where a few names will catch even the most dedicated fan off guard.
A Quarter-Century of Deciders
Since the turn of the millennium, the World Championship final has been a stage reserved for the genuinely elite. The Crucible's unique pressure-cooker format — seventeen days, 35 frames in the final alone, thousands of fans packed into that intimate Sheffield theatre — has a way of exposing anyone who doesn't truly belong. Yet across twenty-five years and counting, a surprisingly varied cast of characters has made it to that final Sunday.
Some names are almost inevitable. Ronnie O'Sullivan has reached the final on multiple occasions, converting several of those appearances into world titles. Mark Selby and John Higgins are similarly familiar presences in the sport's showpiece. But then there are the others — players who reached that final once, perhaps seized their moment brilliantly, perhaps fell just short. Players like Ali Carter, who twice came agonisingly close to becoming world champion, or Barry Hawkins and Ricky Walden, who each had their day in the Sheffield sunshine before the occasion ultimately got the better of them.
Since 2000, only a handful of different players have actually lifted the trophy — O'Sullivan, Higgins, Williams, Selby, Peter Ebdon, Graeme Dott, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Stuart Bingham, and Mark Williams among them — meaning plenty of finalists have walked away with the runner-up plaque instead. That's the cruel arithmetic of the one-frame-decides-it final: you can play magnificently for a fortnight and still leave Sheffield with nothing but regret.
Wu Yize: Writing His Own Chapter
Which makes Wu Yize's achievement all the more striking. To reach a World Championship final at his age, against the calibre of opponent Mark Allen represents, is the kind of result that rewrites a player's career trajectory overnight. Allen himself is no gentle warm-up act — a former top-ten fixture and one of the most combative competitors on tour, the Northern Irishman has threatened to go deep at the Crucible for years without quite reaching the final. That Wu not only beat him but did so with the sort of composed, attacking snooker that had the Crucible crowd murmuring in admiration says everything about where this young man's game currently sits.
Whether he wins or loses the final, Wu's name is now permanently etched into that list of twenty-one. He joins a lineage that stretches back to the turn of the century, encompassing multiple nationalities, multiple generations, and some of the most memorable matches in the history of the sport. It is, by any measure, an extraordinary place to be.
So — How Many Can You Name?
The question now, of course, is whether you can identify all twenty of his predecessors. Some will come immediately — the champions, the regulars, the household names. But there are a few in that list who will require a moment's thought, a half-remembered Sunday afternoon, perhaps the ghost of a scoreline you've almost forgotten. That's the beauty of a good quiz: it doesn't just test what you know, it reminds you of what you've witnessed.
Twenty-five years of World Championship finals. Twenty-one different players. One list that tells the story of modern snooker better than almost anything else could. Give our quiz a go and see how your memory holds up — and while you're at it, keep one eye on Sheffield, where Wu Yize is about to play the most important match of his young life.
