Over the past two weeks Si Jiahui has calmly dispatched his opponents one by one – first the 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy, then the 13th seed Robert Milkins, before knocking out Scotland’s Anthony McGill in the quarter-finals – like the world’s most serene assassin. The 20-year-old has produced an extraordinary Crucible debut to be within reach of the World Championship final, and perhaps the most remarkable part is that he has taken it all in his stride.
But Si wasn’t always this calm. When he was young, his father Si Peijun opened a snooker club in their hometown, Zhuji. The young Jiahui was obsessed, and by 10 years old he could beat just about anyone in the room, with the help of a rest to reach the middle of the table. Yet the game would often frustrate him.
