Ng On-yee (; born 17 November 1990) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player who has won three IBSF World Snooker Championships and three World Women's Snooker world championships. She held the number one position in the World Women's Snooker world ranking list from February 2018 to April 2019.
After competing in several International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) tournaments, Ng became the youngest-ever IBSF women's world champion at the age of 19 and successfully defended the title the following year. At the 2015 World Ladies Snooker Championship she defeated Reanne EvansâÂÂwho had held the title for the previous ten yearsâÂÂin the semi-final and won the title. After losing the final of the same tournament to Evans the following year, Ng regained the title in 2017, defeating Evans 5âÂÂ4 in the semi-final and overcoming Vidya Pillai 6âÂÂ5 in the protracted final. In 2018, Ng won the title for a third time and in 2019 she collected her third IBSF World Title.
Ng took up snooker at the age of 13 after being impressed by her father's skill at the game. She has been supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute since 2010. Her highest in competition is 139, which she achieved at the 2018 Australian Women's Open.
Ng was born on 17 November 1990. She grew up in Hong Kong, within the working-class district of Sham Shui Po. She began learning to play snooker at the age of 13 in the snooker hall in which her father worked. He encouraged her to take up the game because she was lacking direction, performing poorly at school, and spending a lot of time playing online games. Ng was impressed by her father's playing ability and attire; she took up the sport and was coached by her father. She started entering tournaments in 2006.
She would practise the sport for between five and six hours daily; in one of her practice routines, Ng would cue through a small ring placed on the table to help assess her accuracy. Her first international tournament was the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in Amman. In 2007 and 2008, she won the Hong Kong Under-21 Snooker Open Championships, in which she competed against male players.
Ng left school at 17 to concentrate on her snooker skills but later returned to studying, and in 2016 gained a Higher Diploma in accounting from the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong.
Since 2010, Ng has been supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), where she is an elite sports scholarship athlete. In 2015, she was receiving HKD25,000 a month from the HKSI.
Ng's first experience of an international snooker competition was at the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in Amman, Jordan, where she won three of her eight matches in the qualifying group, winning 13 and losing 16.
In the group stage of the 2007 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship, she recorded a 3âÂÂ0 win over Hasani Armaghan of Iran and a 3âÂÂ1 win over Arantxa Sanchis but lost 0âÂÂ3 to Bi Zhu Qing. She also achieved 3âÂÂ0 wins over Ramona Belmont of New Zealand, and Aakanksha Singh and Keerath Bhandaal from India, the latter of whom was aged 11. In the semi-final, Ng won the first frame against her opponent Belmont, who took the next one. Ng won the following two frames to face Bi Zhu Qing in the final, in which Ng lost the first two frames then equalised the score to 2âÂÂ2 before losing the last two frames. Bi won the match 4âÂÂ2.
Ng lost her quarter-final match 2âÂÂ3 to Bi Zhu Qing at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau in November 2008.
In the qualifying group for the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship, Ng lost 2âÂÂ3 to Ramona Belmont, whom she had defeated twice in the 2007 under-21 championship, and then bested Anuja Chandra 3âÂÂ1 and Yu Ching Ching 4âÂÂ2. In the last-16 round, Ng was trailing 0âÂÂ2 to Yu Ching Ching but won four frames in a row to win the match 4âÂÂ2. In the semi-finals, Ng faced Belmont and prevailed 4âÂÂ3, having led 2âÂÂ0 before falling behind 2âÂÂ3. In the final, Ng produced some impressive and defeated Kathy Parashis, a 10-time winner of the Australian Open, 5âÂÂ1. When Ng was leading 3âÂÂ1, the players were summoned to drug tests and returned to take the remaining frame she required to win the match, becoming the youngest-ever IBSF women's champion at the age of 19.
Ng was omitted from the Hong Kong squad for the 2009 East Asian Games, which were held in Hong Kong soon after her victory in the IBSF World Championship, because she was unable to attend the team training camp.
At the 2010 Asian Games, Ng won the gold medal as a member of the women's six-red snooker team, along with So Man Yan and Jaique Ip. She also won a bronze medal for reaching the semi-finals in the six-red singles competition. She lost 3âÂÂ4 to Chen Siming in the semi-finals of the individual competition.
On 15 December 2010, Ng successfully defended her IBSF World Snooker Championship title in Syria, defeating compatriot Jaique Ip 5âÂÂ0 in the final. Having won the first three frames comfortably, Ng won the last two frames on the . On her way to the final, Ng won all six of her matches in the qualifying group without losing a frame. She then defeated Eslami Taherh 4âÂÂ0 in the last 16, Anuja Chandra 4âÂÂ3 in the quarter-finalsâÂÂthe only match in which Ng lost any framesâÂÂand Vidya Pillai 4âÂÂ0 in the semi-finals. Ng reached the quarter-final of the 2011 WLBSA World Championship, losing 1âÂÂ4 to eventual winner Reanne Evans.
Ng won her first women's ranking event, the 2012 Northern Championship, without losing a frame during the tournament. She bested Maria Catalano 3âÂÂ0 in the final.
Having won the previous two IBSF world championships, in 2009 and 2010, Ng topped her qualifying group in 2012 by winning all four matches. She then progressed by defeating Arantxa Sanchis 4âÂÂ1 in the last 16, Nicha Pathomekmongkhon 4âÂÂ2 in the quarter-finals, and Siraphat Chitchomnart 4âÂÂ2 in the semi-finals. In the final, Ng won only the third frame, losing 1âÂÂ5 to Wendy Jans. In the WLBSA World Championship, Ng won all of her five qualifying group matches but lost in the last 16 to Yu Ching Ching.
Ng won a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Six-red snooker in July, losing 3âÂÂ4 to Amornrat Uamduang in the final. At the WLBSA World Championship, she lost 0âÂÂ4 to Maria Catalano in the semi-finals.
In October 2013, Ng won the inaugural IBSF World Six-red snooker Championship in Carlow, Ireland. In the final, her opponent Daria Sirotina failed to score in three of the four frames Ng won to take the title 4âÂÂ0, the frame scores being 34âÂÂ0, 43âÂÂ0, 45âÂÂ37 and 42âÂÂ0. Ng was also, with So Man Yee, runner-up in the Six-red team event. In November of the same year, Ng won the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) UK Ladies' Championship, defeating Maria Catalano 4âÂÂ2 in the final.
Ng won the WLBSA Southern Classic in February with a victory over Maria Catalano in the final. She was the losing finalist in the WLBSA World Championship, losing 0âÂÂ6 to Reanne Evans after winning 3âÂÂ0 against Laura Evans, 4âÂÂ2 against Tatjana Vasiljeva and 4âÂÂ3 against Emma Bonney to reach the final. Ng also reached the semi-finals of the IBSF World Championship, losing 1âÂÂ4 to Wendy Jans.
In February 2015, Ng lost 1âÂÂ5 to Reanne Evans in the final of the Eden Resources Masters tournament.
At the 2015 World Ladies Snooker Championship held in Leeds, England, Ng topped her qualifying group. Three frames were played in each match; Ng won 3âÂÂ0 wins over Annette Newman, Gaye Jones and Michelle Brown, and had a 2âÂÂ1 win over Yana Shut. In the last 16, she defeated Anastasia Tumilovich 3âÂÂ0, and in the quarter-finals bested Emma Cunningham 4âÂÂ0. In the semi-finals, she faced Reanne Evans, winner of the title in each of the previous ten years. Ng took the first frame 63âÂÂ51, scoring a break of 44, but then lost the next two frames. A of 33 saw Ng take the fourth frame 53âÂÂ43 to equalize at 2âÂÂ2. She then took the lead by winning the fifth frame 84âÂÂ0 with breaks of 25 and 55. In a close sixth frame, Ng cleared the last four colours to win the frame 51âÂÂ47 and the match 4âÂÂ2, ending Evans' decade-long reign as champion. Emma Bonney won the first two frames of the final, winning them 59âÂÂ22 and 68âÂÂ38. Ng won the scrappy, 47-minute third frame 45âÂÂ11. The highest break in the fifth frame, which took 46 minutes and 58 seconds, was eight (red, pink, red from Bonney), with Ng taking it 72âÂÂ20. Ng then made five breaks in the twenties and won the next three frames to become the first new world ladies' champion since Reanne Evans won the first of her ten consecutive titles.
On 11 August 2015, Ng defeated India's Vidya Pillai 5âÂÂ2 in the World Ladies Championship final in Karachi, Pakistan, to claim her second IBSF World Six-red women's title. Ng emerged from the qualifying groups in fourth place overall and defeated Arantxa Sanchis 4âÂÂ0 and Amee Kamani 4âÂÂ1 to reach the final.
Ng reached the final of the 2016 Eden Classic, defeating fellow Hong Kong players Katrina Wan 3âÂÂ2 and Jaique Ip 4âÂÂ1 after qualifying for the knockout stages but Ng lost 1âÂÂ4 to Reanne Evans in the final. Ng and her playing partner Katrina Wan Ka Kai won the 2016 World Women's Snooker pairs title by defeating Maria Catalano and Tatjana Vasiljeva 4âÂÂ1 in the final.
At the 2016 World Ladies Snooker Championship, the top-eight seeds, including defending champion Ng, were placed in the knockout and each faced a qualifier. Ng progressed to the final without losing a frame, besting Laura Evans 3âÂÂ0, Katrina Wan 4âÂÂ0, and Rebecca Kenna 4âÂÂ0. In the final, Reanne Evans took the first frame but Ng won three in a row to go two frames ahead. Evans won the next two frames to equalize at 3âÂÂ3. Ng then took the seventh frame to lead 4âÂÂ3. Evans then won three consecutive frames to take the match 6âÂÂ4 and win the title.
Ng was granted a wild card for the 2016 World Snooker Championship as the Women's World Champion, and became the first Asian woman to play in the World Snooker Championship, losing 1âÂÂ10 to Peter Lines in her first match. With Katrina Wan, Ng won the IBSF World Six-reds snooker team tournament in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, with a 4âÂÂ3 victory over Vidya Pillai and Amee Kamani of India in the final. Fifteen minutes after the conclusion of the team final, Ng played Pillai in a quarter-final match of the singles and lost 2âÂÂ4.
Ng won the inaugural Paul Hunter Classic, which was held in Fürth, Germany. After winning all three matches in her qualifying group 3âÂÂ0, Ng won the deciding frame 4âÂÂ3 against Irina Gorbataya in the last 16, having trailed 1âÂÂ3. She progressed through the quarter-finals and semi-finals without losing a frame in either round. Ng won 4âÂÂ0 over Wendy Jans, during the third frame of which she made the tournament's highest break, a 104. She then defeated Maria Catalano, also 4âÂÂ0. In the final, Ng took a 2âÂÂ0 lead against Reanne Evans, who won the third frame. Ng won the next two frames, both of which were closely contested, to win the final 4âÂÂ1.
At the first Asian Billiard Sports Championships, which was held in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates, Ng defeated Arantxa Sanchis 5âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals and Vidya Pillai 5âÂÂ1 in the final to gain the title. Ng lost 3âÂÂ4 to Reanne Evans in the semi-finals of the UK Championship in November, and 1âÂÂ4 to Wendy Jans in the quarter-final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship later the same month.
In 2017, Ng supported the Hong Kong Women's Foundation campaign #MyRealCareerLine, which was set up to tackle sexism and gender inequality at work. She appeared in a YouTube video for the campaign in March 2017.
The 2017 World Women's Snooker Championship was held in Singapore, marking the first time in over 20 years the tournament had taken place outside the United Kingdom. The group stage matches were contested as best-of five , with all dead frames being played. Ng topped her qualifying group by winning all three of her matches: 4âÂÂ1 against both Charlene Chai and Chitra Magimairaj, and a 5âÂÂ0 win against Ronda Sheldreck. In the knockout stage, Ng defeated Pui Ying Mini Chu 4âÂÂ0 in the last 16 and Waratthanun Sukritthanes 4âÂÂ3 in the quarter-finals. She then faced defending champion Reanne Evans in the semi-finals, where she won 5âÂÂ4 after recovering from a 60-points deficit in the deciding frame.
Ng's opponent in the final was Vidya Pillai, the first Indian player to reach the final of the Women's World Championship, and it was the first women's world championship final with two Asian players. Ng won the first two frames of the match before losing the next four. At 2âÂÂ4 down, she won three consecutive frames for a 5âÂÂ4 lead before Pillai took the tenth to force a deciding frame that lasted for over an hour. With only the pink and black balls remaining on the table, and the pink lying close to the black which was itself adjacent to one of the corner , Ng fouled and left a free ball. Pillai, who was four points behind, the black but and hit the pink instead, also the black. Ng then potted the pink ball to take the frame 66âÂÂ50, gaining her second world title.
With a playing time of eight hours and four minutes, the final was the longest 11-frame competitive match in snooker history, significantly exceeding the previous record of 7 hours and 14 minutes that was set at the 1992 UK Snooker Championship. Finishing at 1:30 am local time, it was the first time since 1989 the final of the Women's World Championship had ended in a deciding frame. Because the final took place on the same day as the semi-finals, Ng played for more than 12 hours across the two matches in a single day. Her prize money was ã5,000, more than four times the amount awarded to the previous year's winner.
Ng was one of only two women competitors in the mixed singles snooker at the 2017 World Games, held in Wrocà Âaw, Poland. Ng lost in the deciding frame of her first match 2âÂÂ3 against Michael Judge. Ng was seeded into the last 16 at the 2017 Paul Hunter Women's Classic in Fürth, Germany; she reached the semi-finals without losing a frame, defeating both Inese Lukashevska and Diana Stateczny 4âÂÂ0. She then narrowly defeated So Man Yan 4âÂÂ3 to reach the final, where she lost 1âÂÂ4 to Reanne Evans, having won only the third frame.
On reaching the quarter-finals of the WLBSA British Open in Stourbridge, England, in February 2018, Ng became the first Asian player to top the women's rankings. She progressed to the semi-finals, where she lost 2âÂÂ4 to Nutcharut Wongharuthai.
Ng successfully defended her world championship title, without conceding a frame, at the 2018 tournament held at St. Paul's Bay, Malta. She had started with low expectations for her performance at the event because she felt unwell and under pressure, and was suffering from loss of form. Ng emerged from the qualifying stage with 3âÂÂ0 wins over Judy Dangerfield, Katarzyna Bialik, and Ronda Sheldreck, and was seeded into the quarter-finals, where she defeated Wendy Jans 4âÂÂ0. She then defeated Rebecca Kenna 4âÂÂ0 in her semi-final, winning a place in the final with Maria Catalano, who had defeated Reanne Evans 4âÂÂ3 in the other semi-final. Ng won 5âÂÂ0 to gain her third world title.
Ng was runner-up in the World Women's 10-Red Championship and the World Women's Six-red Championship, which were both held in Leeds, England, in April 2018. Ng lost in the final of both tournaments to Reanne Evans. She then entered 2018 Q School in an attempt to win a place on the professional snooker tour. Ng took the 2018 LITEtask UK Women's Championship title in September, defeating Suzie Opacic 3âÂÂ2, Ploychompoo Laokiatphong 3âÂÂ0, and Jaique Ip 4âÂÂ0. In the final, she defeated Rebecca Kenna 4âÂÂ1 after losing the first frame.
At the Australian Open, Ng scored a 139 break in the third frame of her semi-final against Nutcharut Wongharuthai; her then-highest break in competition. Having won all of her five qualifying matches 4âÂÂ0 against Australian opponents, Ng defeated another Australian, Judy Dangerfield, 3âÂÂ0 in the last 16, Pui Ying Mini Chu 4âÂÂ0 in the quarter-finals, and Wongharuthai 4âÂÂ2 in the semi-finals. Ng won the final, defeating Katrina Wan 4âÂÂ2.
At the IBSF Six-red Women's Snooker Championship in Marsa Alam, Ng was the only player in the women's qualifying groups who did not lose a frame. In the knockout phase, she defeated Thai players Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 4âÂÂ2 and Nutcharat Wongharuthai 4âÂÂ1, before losing the final to another Thai player, Waratthanun Sukritthanes, 2âÂÂ4.
Ng reached the final of the 2019 Belgian Women's Open with wins of 3âÂÂ0 over Jane O'Neill and Emma Parker, and of 4âÂÂ3 over Nutcharut Wongharuthai in the semi-finals. She won the first frame of the final against Reanne Evans, but lost the next four to finish as runner-up. She also lost to Evans in the final of the World Women's 10-Red Championship in Leeds, this time 3âÂÂ4.
Ng lost in the quarter-finals of the Six-red Championship to Wongharuthai, 2âÂÂ3. She was also defeated by Wongharuthai 4âÂÂ1 at the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 World Women's Snooker Championship, making 2019 the first year since 2012 that Ng had not reached at least the semi-finals of the tournament. Consequently, she lost the number one position that she had held for 14 months, as Reanne Evans regained the top ranking.
In April 2019, Ng played Alan McManus in the first round of qualifying at the World Snooker Championship â after winning the first two frames, she eventually lost the match 6âÂÂ10. She was runner-up in the 2019 Women's Tour Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre, defeating Rebecca Kenna 2âÂÂ0 in the semi-finals before losing the one-frame final to Reanne Evans.
At the Australian Women's Open in 2019, Ng and Nutcharut Wongharuthai were the only two players to complete their qualifying groups without losing a frame. Ng then registered wins over Tani Mina 3âÂÂ0, Jessica Woods 3âÂÂ1, and So Man Yan 4âÂÂ1, to reach the final against Wongharuthai, who won the match 4âÂÂ2 to gain her first ranking tournament win.
Ng won her third IBSF world snooker title in Antalya in November 2019. She dedicated her victory to Poon Ching-chiu, a fellow snooker player who had died at the age of 18 during the fortnight before the final. Ng finished top of the qualifying round, winning all four of her matches 2âÂÂ0, before defeating Joy Lyn Willenberg 3âÂÂ0 in the last 16, and Amee Kamani 4âÂÂ1 in the quarter-finals. Her semi-final against Waratthanun Sukritthanes was taken to a deciding frame, but with breaks of 34 and 40, Ng won the last frame 85âÂÂ0 and the match 4âÂÂ3. She then played Wongharuthai in the final where, after trailing 0âÂÂ2, she took five consecutive frames to win the match 5âÂÂ2.
Ng won the 2020 Belgian Women's Open, which was her first ranking tournament victory since the 2018 Australian Open. She was seeded directly into the last-16 round, where she defeated both Albina Liashcuk and Steph Daughtery 3âÂÂ0. She then bested Wongharuthai 4âÂÂ2 in the semi-finals. In the final she was 2âÂÂ1 ahead of Reanne Evans after losing the first frame. From 2âÂÂ2, Ng won the next two frames to take the title with a 4âÂÂ2 win.
Ng was given a wildcard place for the qualifying rounds of the 2020 World Snooker Championship. The final stages of the tournament were due to take place in April and May 2020 but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She declined to participate in the tournament due to COVID-19 safety concerns. With World Women's Snooker events cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, Ng's next competitive appearance was at the 2020 Hong Kong Women's Snooker Open Championship, nine months after the Belgian Open. She won the title with a 4âÂÂ0 defeat of Cheung Yee Ting in the final.
In March 2021, it was announced that Ng would be offered a two-year World Snooker tour-card, to commence in the 2021âÂÂ22 snooker season.
On the World Women's Snooker circuit for 2021âÂÂ2022, there were five ranking events. Ng won the Eden Women's Masters, winning the deciding frame of her semi-final against Kenna after needing three snookers, and recovering from 1âÂÂ3 against Evans in the final to win 4âÂÂ3. She took the season's last ranking title, the Winchester Open, by defeating Wongharuthai 4âÂÂ0 in the final.
Ng achieved her first win on the World Snooker tour by eliminating Wu Yize 4âÂÂ2 at the 2022 Welsh Open. She lost 1âÂÂ4 to Ali Carter in the next round.
In the 2023âÂÂ2024 season, Ng won three women's ranking events: the Australian Open, Albanian Open and British Open. She was also runner-up at the US Open and the Belgian Open, and finished the season at the top of the one-year ranking list. In the following season, she won the US Open and retained the British Open title, and finished the season ranked second.
She qualified again for the World Snooker Tour for two seasons starting in the 2025âÂÂ26. At the 2025 Championship League (ranking), she became the first woman to reach the last 32 of a professional ranking event At the 2025 English Open, she made a 137 , breaking the record for the highest break made by a woman in professional competition.
The Hong Kong government awarded Ng the Medal of Honour in 2011 for "outstanding achievements in international snooker competitions." She received a Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2017, this being the lowest of the three ranks of The Order of the Bauhinia Star, a set of awards made by the government of Hong Kong to "persons who have rendered distinguished service to the community or to their respective fields of business for a long period of time".
In March 2016, Ng was named "Best of the Best" at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. She won the award again in 2018, in recognition of her achievements in 2017. Ng was named the International World Games Association Athlete of the Month in March 2017, following her victory in the 2017 World Women's Snooker Championship.