Wu Yize clarifies: We didn't sell our House

In early May, Chinese snooker player Wu Yize won the 2026 World Snooker Championship, prompting many media outlets to quickly focus on the backstory of Wu’s early journey to the UK in pursuit of his dreams. Some reports claimed that Wu’s father closed down their antique shop and even sold the family’s only home to support his son. Recently, in an interview, Wu Yize clarified that his family did not sell their house for his snooker career: “We didn’t sell the house, but my family did knock through a bedroom wall to put in a snooker table for me to practice. Later, when I started playing professionally, my parents once sold their car to support me.”

After Wu finished his semi-final, BBC wrote an article on his early days of training and chasing his dream in the UK, noting that when he moved to the UK at 16, the room he stayed in had no windows and he had to share a bed with his father. After Wu’s victory at the Crucible, Chinese media revealed even more about the unimaginably difficult years endured by Wu and his father Wu Jiepin.

Some reports claimed that to let Wu focus on training, his father closed their long-running and steadily profitable antique shop, accompanying his son full-time on his professional snooker path. Over time, Wu Jiepin spent all his savings traveling across the country with his son for study and training, and allegedly even sold their only home in Lanzhou to invest in Wu’s future. When the father and son settled in Sheffield, UK, Wu Jiepin rented a poorly furnished semibasement room, worked several manual labor jobs to maintain their living and Wu’s training expenses, and lived extremely frugally himself.

The difficult years of Wu’s family life quickly became a hot topic online, and the love of parents for their child resonated with many netizens. However, regarding the media reports, Wu Yize clarified in an interview with CCTV’s billiards channel reporter.

Wu Yize said, “Actually, some of the reports contain false elements. First of all, we did not sell the house, but we did knock through a bedroom to put in a snooker table so I could practice. Later, when I turned professional, they sold the car to support my career. There were a lot of sacrifices, and when I first gave up my studies there were many tough experiences. So, given all they’ve done for me, I clearly knew that I had to make this path work.”

Regarding his parents’ support, Wu said gratefully after his championship win: “My parents have always unconditionally supported and accompanied me. They are the ones who will always stand behind me no matter what.” Now, in an interview with a CCTV reporter, Wu Yize said he will strive to become better so that his parents can live better lives.

Wu Yize said: “They (my parents) take care of my daily life and give me great encouragement mentally! All their sacrifice and support, I think, was paid back at that moment (referring to winning the championship), and it fulfilled many of the dreams we shared in childhood. I will work to make myself better, and hope to give them an even better life, so they can enjoy accompanying me much more, because they really did sacrifice a lot in the past.”