Lim Kok Leong

{{Infobox snooker player

|name = Lim Kok Leong

|image =

|caption =

| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1995|5|18|df=yes}}}}

| birth_place =

| Sport country = Malaysia

| Professional = 2024–present

| High ranking = 108 (July 2024)

| Official maximums =

| Best finish = Last 64 (2024 British Open)

| Ranking wins =

| World champ =

| medals =

}}

Lim Kok Leong ({{zh|s=林谷良}}{{citation |url=https://www.cincainews.com/news/sports/2022/05/18/sea-games-lim-kok-leong-wins-gold-for-malaysia-in-six-red-snooker-singles/7475 |title=男子斯诺克6红球夺魁林谷良摘大马东运第23金庆生！ |work=cincainews |date=18 May 2022 |access-date=15 March 2023}}) is a Malaysian professional snooker player. He won the 2022 IBSF World Snooker Championship, and will compete as a professional on the World Snooker Tour as of the 2024-25 snooker season.

Career

=Snooker=

In May 2022 he was runner-up to James Wattana at the delayed 2021 Southeast Asian Games snooker tournament.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2083508|website=Bernama.com|title=Kok Leong falls to Thai legend Wattana in final|date=May 22, 2022|access-date=March 4, 2023}} His run to the final included a 4-0 semi-final win against Passakorn Suwanawat. He also won the Men's snooker 6-red singles at the same event.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/amp/sports/others/2022/05/798313/kok-leong-wattana-battle-gold|title=Kok Leong, Wattana battle for gold|date=May 22, 2022|website=nst.com|access-date=March 4, 2023}} That win was reported to be on his 27th birthday, on 18 May 2022, and included a 5-3 win the final against Jeffrey Roda of the Philippines.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/others/2022/05/18/kok-leong-gets-pot-of-gold-for-his-birthday|title=Kok Leong gets pot of gold for his birthday|website=Thestar.com.my|date=May 18, 2022|access-date=March 4, 2023}}

In November 2022 he beat Amir Sarkhosh of Iran 5-0 in the final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship player in Antalya, Turkey. His run to the final included a 4-0 win over Eden Sharav.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibsf.info/news/84/lim-kok-leong-is-the-world-snooker-champion-for-the-year-2022|title=Lim Kok Leong is the World Snooker Champion for the year 2022|date=November 11, 2022|website=ibsf.info|access-date=March 4, 2023}} He became the first Malaysian snooker player to win the amateur title.{{Cite web|url=https://snookerhq.com/2022/11/12/lim-kok-leong-wins-ibsf-world-championship|title=Lim Kok Leong wins IBSF World Championship|date=November 12, 2022|website=Snookerhq.com|access-date=March 4, 2023}}

In May 2023 he was a bronze medal winner at the 2023 SEA Games, losing to Sunny Akani at the semi-final stage of the individual competition.{{Cite web|url=https://bernama.com/en/sports/news.php?id=2188996|website=Bernama.com|title= SEA GAMES: CHUAN LEONG ENDS M'SIAN CAMPS AGONISING 48-HOUR WAIT FOR GOLD|date=May 14, 2023|accessdate=May 18, 2023}}

In May 2024, he defeated Liang Xiaolong to reach the final round of the Asian Q School in Bangkok, where he beat former professional Gao Yang 4-3 to secure a two-year card on the main WST Tour.{{cite web|url=https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/may/26/final-four-set-for-asia-oceania-q-school/|website=wst.tv|accessdate=26 May 2024|title= FINAL FOUR SET FOR ASIA/OCEANIA Q SCHOOL|date=26 May 2024}} The tour card has only been used twice: these were the qualifying rounds for the 2024 Wuhan Open and the 2024 British Open, from 28th July to 3rd August. Leong lost 1–5 to Dylan Emery in the Wuhan Open qualifiers, but defeated Anthony Hamilton by 4–1 in the British Open qualifiers, and would have played Mark Selby in the main stages of that event, but then withdrew from competing in any other event since. The reasons for the withdrawals are unknown, due to no statement from either the World Snooker Tour or the WPBSA, the governing body.

=Doubles=

He is a twice winner of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (ISBF) World Team Championships.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/others/2022/10/09/snooker-keen-hoo-kok-leong-clinch-world-team-championship-title|title=Snooker: Keen Hoo-Kok Leong clinch World Team Championship title|date=October 9, 2022|website=Thestar.com|access-date=March 4, 2023}} In 2015 Lim Kok Leong won the partnered with Moh Keen Hoo, in Karachi, Pakistan after a narrow 5-4 win in the final over home team Asjad Iqbal and Shahid Aftab.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Other-Sport/2015/08/16/Malaysia-nail-world-amateur-snooker-title|title=Malaysia, world champions|date=August 16, 2015|website=The Star|access-date=March 4, 2023}} In 2019 he and Moh Keen Ho won gold at the Southeast Asian Games defeating Philippines’ Alvin Barberro and Jefrey Roda 3-1 in the best-of-5 final.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/amp/sports/others/2019/12/545590/keen-hoo-kok-leong-stay-composed-ward-late-filipino-fightback|title= Keen Hoo-Kok Leong stay composed to ward off late Filipino fightback|website=NST Sports|date=December 7, 2019|access-date=March 6, 2023}} In October 2022 he won the World Team Snooker Championship in Kuala Lumpur, again with Moh Keen Hoo. They beat Thai pair Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn-Jong and Rak Boonrod 4-2 in the final.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/amp/sports/others/2022/10/838891/malaysian-duo-win-world-snooker-title|title=Malaysian duo win world snooker title|date=October 9, 2022|website=nst.com|access-date=March 4, 2023}} In May 2023 he was a silver medal winner at the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, losing with Moh Keen Hoo to Cambodian pair Suon Chhay and Men Sophanith in the final.{{cite web|url= https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501290391/cambodias-golden-billiard-players-beat-fancied-malaysia/|website=Khmer Times|accessdate=May 18, 2023|date=May 15, 2023|title=Cambodia's golden billiard players beat fancied Malaysia}}

Performance and rankings timeline

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"

! Tournament

! 2024/
25

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|RankingIt shows the ranking at the beginning of the season

|align="center"|New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

colspan="10"|Ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Championship League

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Xi'an Grand Prix

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Saudi Arabia Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|English Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|British Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WDLeong competed in the qualifying round for this event, and had progressed to the main stages, but withdrew before playing Mark Selby.

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Wuhan Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Northern Ireland Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|International Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|UK Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shoot Out

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Scottish Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|German Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Welsh Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Grand Prix

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Players Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Tour Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Championship

class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"

bgcolor="#efefef"

! colspan="6"|Performance Table Legend

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|LQ

| lost in the qualifying draw

| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R

| lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)

| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| lost in the quarter-finals

align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

| lost in the semi-finals

| align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;"|F

| lost in the final

| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

| won the tournament

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|DNQ

| did not qualify for the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|A

| did not participate in the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|WD

| withdrew from the tournament

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NH / Not Held	means an event was not held.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NR / Non-Ranking Event	means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|R / Ranking Event	means an event is/was a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|MR / Minor-Ranking Event	means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

=Team finals: 3 (2 titles)=

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"|Outcome

!width="20"|No.

!width="50"|Year

!width="150"|Championship

!width="120"|Team/Partner

!width="100"|{{nowrap|Opponent(s) in the final}}

!width="50"|Score

style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner

| 1.

| 2019

| Southeast Asian Games

| {{flagcountry|MAS}}
Moh Keen Hoo

| {{flagcountry|PHI}}
Alvin Barbero
Jefrey Roda

| align="center"|3–1

style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner

| 2.

| 2022{{cite web |title=WORLD Team Snooker Championships Men - Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia 2022 |url=http://esnooker.pl/turnieje/2022/dms/en/show_drabinka_team.php?id_t=362}}

| {{nowrap|IBSF Team Snooker Championships}}

| {{flagcountry|MAS}} 1
Moh Keen Hoo

| {{flagcountry|THA}} 2
Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
Jongrak Boonrod

| align="center"|4–2

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 2023

| Southeast Asian Games

| {{flagcountry|MAS}}
Moh Keen Hoo

| {{flagcountry|CAM}}
Men Sophanith
Suon Chhay

| align="center"|1–3