Zhou Yuelong Falls Just Short of Unique Centuries Record at China Open

World number 22 Zhou compiled four century breaks as he defeated fellow qualifier and Chinese compatriot Liu Hongyu, 6-4, on Wednesday in Taiyuan. He will face David Gilbert in the quarter-finals of the £1.2 million tournament on Friday.

Four-time ranking event runner-up Zhou - arguably the best player on tour without such a title to his name - began his match against Liu like a train, making breaks of 119 and 108 to go 2-0 up, before another three-figure effort - a 134 - put him 3-1 ahead at the interval.

On resumption, though, world number 56 Liu turned the tables as he strung together three frames in-a-row to move 4-3 in front.

However, momentum swung again as Zhou pieced together a trio sequence of his own, fashioning a 140 in the eighth, and then contributions of 68 and 66 in frame nine and ten, respectively.

The 28-year-old has already racked up seven centuries across his opening two matches in the Far East; in round one he dispatched three-time China Open champion Mark Williams, 6-3, with a hat-trick of tons.

What is the centuries record in a best of 11 frames match?

Four centuries from one player in a top-flight best of 11 match is seriously impressive, but not quite a record.

In professional snooker history, there have been four occasions of a player registering five centuries in a best of 11 frame encounter - all of these instances have come within the past decade, and on British soil.

The first player to achieve this superb break-building feat was Fergal O’Brien when he scored tons of 101, 100, 111, 111 and 113 in defeating Barry Hawkins, 6-5, in the last 64 of the UK Championship.

At the 2020 Champion of Champions, Judd Trump made 103, 117, 112, 107 and 138 in defeating David Gilbert in the quarter-finals, and just days later at the UK Championship, Matthew Selt totted up 138, 131, 100, 111 and 102 in a 6-0 round one whitewash over Amine Amiri.

The following year, the UK Championship recorded another big break bonanza as Thepchaiya Un-Nooh saw off seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry 6-1 in the opening round with efforts of 129, 100, 107, 136 and 106.

Zhou’s four-ton haul in a best of 11 is the third example in just a matter of days on the World Snooker Tour. At the recent Shanghai Masters, Ding Junhui struck a quartet of centuries in the wildcard round, whilst at the ongoing China Open, Shaun Murphy fashioned four tons in consecutive frames during his record-breaking sequence of 607 unanswered points.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 China Open snooker, visit our tournament information centre here.