Xiao Guodong

2.1. Amateur Career and Turning Professional

Xiao's amateur career highlights include winning the Asian Under-21 Amateur Championship in 2007, defeating Chinnakrit Yoawansiri 6-2 in the final. This victory was a pivotal moment, as it led to him turning professional in the 2007/2008 season. He also claimed titles in the PIOS - Event 2 in 2008, where he beat Noppadol Sangnil 6-5, and PIOS - Event 6 in 2009, with a dominant 6-0 win over Jack Lisowski. In 2011, he secured another amateur title at the China Snooker Tour Finals, defeating Chen Feilong 5-0.

Beyond these victories, Xiao Guodong has a strong record in multi-sport events, representing China. At the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau, he earned a bronze medal in the singles snooker event and a silver medal in the team snooker competition. He continued his success at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Ho Chi Minh City, where he won a gold medal in the six-red singles event. This was followed by another gold medal in the six-red singles event at the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Incheon.

3.1. Early Professional Career (2007-2010)

Xiao's professional journey began in the 2007/2008 season. He made an early impact as a wildcard at the 2007 China Open, where he surprised world number 50 Tom Ford with a 5-3 victory, before losing 0-5 to Matthew Stevens. In his first ranking tournament, the 2007 Grand Prix, he finished fourth in his qualifying group, winning three out of seven matches. At the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy, he advanced by beating Leo Fernandez 5-1 and Jimmy White 5-0, but was then defeated 2-5 by David Gilbert.

His early challenges included losses to Kurt Maflin in the 2007 UK Championship and the 2008 China Open qualifiers, as well as a 2-5 defeat to fellow Chinese player Liu Song at the Welsh Open. In the 2008 World Snooker Championship qualifiers, a victory over Munraj Pal set up a match with David Roe, which he lost 5-10.

A notable performance came at the 2009 China Open, where he won his wildcard round match against Michael Holt 5-3, then proceeded to defeat a strong compatriot, Ding Junhui, 5-3 in the first round proper. In the next round, he put up a tough fight against three-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, trailing just 3-4 after O'Sullivan started with two successive centuries, but ultimately lost the match. His promising early performances did not go unnoticed, as on July 10, 2009, the World Snooker website named Xiao as one of the top five players to watch in the 2009-10 season.

3.2. Breakthrough and First Ranking Final (2011-2014)

The 2011-12 season marked a significant turning point for Xiao, particularly in the Players Tour Championship (PTC) series. He reached the quarter-finals of PTC Event 1 and Event 6, and advanced to the semi-finals of Event 2, where he was eliminated by Ding Junhui. These results earned him a spot in the 2012 Finals, finishing eighteenth in the Order of Merit. Despite playing with a broken hand suffered three weeks prior, he secured a 4-2 victory over Dominic Dale in the first round. He then delivered what was, at the time, the best result of his career by defeating recent UK Champion Judd Trump 4-2, reaching his first-ever ranking event quarter-final before losing 1-4 to Andrew Higginson. Despite not qualifying for other ranking events that season, he climbed 23 places to world number 41.

In the 2012-13 season, Xiao qualified for the Australian Goldfields Open and the German Masters, though he lost in the first round of both. He notably participated in all three Asian Players Tour Championship (APTC) events, reaching the semi-finals of the second event by defeating players like Marco Fu and Barry Hawkins, eventually losing 2-4 to Stephen Lee. His strong APTC performances qualified him for the main PTC Finals, where he reached the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year, overcoming Graeme Dott and Alfie Burden before a 1-4 loss to Neil Robertson. The season concluded with a 4-10 defeat to Jimmy White in the third round of the World Championship Qualifying, but he ended the year ranked world number 37, his highest position at that time.

The 2013-14 season proved to be Xiao's breakthrough. He qualified for the 2013 Wuxi Classic, beating Peter Ebdon and Li Hang before a 0-5 whitewash by John Higgins in the last 16. After a 0-5 loss in the first round of the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open, Xiao qualified for the 2013 Shanghai Masters. There, he defeated Yuan Siyun 5-0 in the wildcard round, followed by wins over Stephen Maguire (5-2) and Peter Lines (5-3). His impressive run continued as he came from 2-4 down to beat Mark Davis 5-4, reaching his first ranking event semi-final. He attributed his success to working with Terry Griffiths. In the semi-finals, he defeated Michael Holt 6-3, including breaks of 111 and 127. This set up the first all-Chinese ranking final in history against Ding Junhui, which Xiao lost 6-10. Despite the loss, the runner-up's prize of 35.50 K GBP was his career-highest at that point, and he broke into the world's top 32.

He reached his second quarter-final of the season at the 2014 German Masters, losing 2-5 to Ryan Day. His improved ranking meant he only needed one win to qualify for the 2014 World Snooker Championship, which he achieved emphatically with a 10-1 thrashing of Li Yan. In his World Championship debut, he initially rallied from 1-4 down against Ali Carter to finish the first session 4-5 behind, but ultimately lost 8-10. Xiao concluded the campaign ranked world number 23, a significant rise of 14 spots from the start of the season.

3.3. Major Achievements and First Ranking Title (2014-present)

The 2014-15 season saw Xiao continue his strong form. At the 2014 Australian Goldfields Open, he defeated Liam Highfield, Peter Ebdon, and Matthew Stevens to reach his second ranking event semi-final, where he was beaten 3-6 by Judd Trump. He reached the third round of the 2014 International Championship (losing 4-6 to Robert Milkins) and the second round of the 2014 UK Championship (losing 4-6 to Matthew Selt). After a 5-4 win over Liam Highfield at the 2015 German Masters, he was whitewashed 0-5 by Neil Robertson. Xiao made it to the final of the 2015 Snooker Shoot-Out, a one-frame, ten-minute match tournament, but lost the lead with only six seconds remaining against Michael White. He also reached the final qualifying round of the 2015 World Snooker Championship, losing a deciding frame on the final pink to Jimmy Robertson.

The 2015-16 season saw a decline in Xiao's ranking, as he struggled to get beyond the last 48 of any ranking event. He finished the season ranked 51st in the world, a drop of 30 places.

In the 2016-17 season, Xiao began to regain momentum. At the 2016 Riga Masters, he reached his first ranking event quarter-final in two years, defeating Gareth Allen 4-0, and both Jamie Jones and David Gilbert 4-2, before losing 2-4 to Darren Morgan. At the English Open, he beat Michael Holt 4-1, Noppon Saengkham 4-0, and Neil Robertson 4-3, before being eliminated 3-4 by Chris Wakelin in the fourth round. During his second-round match against Shaun Murphy at the Scottish Open, Xiao compiled a 132 break, marking his 100th career century, and won the match 4-1, though he lost to Mark Davis in the next round by the same scoreline.

The 2017 Snooker Shoot-Out was notable as it gained ranking status for the first time. In his quarter-final match against David Gilbert, a controversial incident occurred where Xiao ran out of time while potting a yellow, but the foul was not called by the referee. He went on to win the match and reach the final for the second time, losing 19-67 points to Anthony McGill. He comfortably qualified for the 2017 World Snooker Championship with three wins, defeating Ryan Day 10-4 in the first round of the main event before succumbing 6-13 to Mark Selby.

For the 2017-18 season, Xiao reached three quarter-finals and secured impressive victories over John Higgins, Mark Allen, and Mark Selby (twice). He qualified for the 2018 World Snooker Championship, but was defeated 3-10 by Ding Junhui. He finished the season ranked 39.

In the 2018-19 season, Xiao missed two tournaments in August due to pneumonia. His best performances included reaching the quarter-finals of the World Open and the semi-finals of the 2019 World Grand Prix. During the World Championship Qualifiers, he expressed dissatisfaction when his opponent, Michael Judge, continued to play for 20 minutes needing eight snookers in the eighth frame. The session was suspended at 4-4, and Judge ultimately won 10-9. Xiao concluded the season ranked 25.

Xiao's most significant achievement came at the 2024 Wuhan Open, where he won his first ranking title. This historic victory, achieved by defeating fellow Chinese player Si Jiahui 10-7 in the final, marked a culmination of his efforts over seventeen years as a professional.

Recent strong performances have also seen Xiao reach the final of the 2024 Champion of Champions, and the semi-finals of the 2024 International Championship, 2024 Scottish Open, and 2025 German Masters. His highest world ranking stands at 16, achieved in November 2024.

5.1. Ranking Finals

Xiao has reached three ranking finals, securing one title.

5.2. Non-ranking Finals

Xiao has participated in two non-ranking finals.

5.3. Pro-am Finals

Xiao has an undefeated record in three pro-am finals.

5.4. Amateur Finals

Xiao won all four amateur finals he reached.