Right on Cue: Jin Long

Name: Jin Long

Nationality: Chinese (born in Liaoning)

Age: 28 (DOB: May 23 1981)

Turned Pro: 2001

World Ranking: 60

Career Highlights: 2005 and 2008 Asian champion, 2004 and 2008 Grand Prix last 48, 2008 UK Championship last 64, 2009 World Championship last 64

General: Jin rose to career-high 60 in the world rankings after 2008-09 saw him reach last 48 at both the Royal London Watches Grand Prix and China Open.

Won his place on the professional tour with earlier triumph in 2008 Asian Championship, beating Indian Aditya Mehta 7-3 in Dubai. Jin won same title in 2005.

Highest tournament break came in the 2003 European Open, a relatively unimpressive 121, while he managed 125 in qualifying for the 2008 Masters.

Jin's first season on main tour in 2002-03 - achieved by reaching final of Asian and Chinese Championships the previous season - ended with demotion back to PIOS.

He returned in 2004-05 and managed to retain his place - despite a ranking of 118 - thanks to his 6-4 Asian Championship final victory over Cai Jianzhong in Bangkok.

Another poor campaign saw him finish bottom of the professional list in 2005-06, but he returned for a fourth pro season in 2008-09 and won 13 matches, a massive improvement.

Has lost in first-round in only one tournanent - the Northern Ireland Trophy - upturn he attributes to becoming comfortable with professional tour tables.

Reached last 48 at the Grand Prix, defeating Lee Spick, Robert Milkins and Gerard Greene, before losing heavily to Dave Harold, while he made third round of UK and World Championships.

His achievement in stylishly retaining 2009/10 spot marks him out as a player who could have found his footing among the game's stars. Having finished inside the top 64, Jin now has two qualifying match to negotiate at tournaments instead of three.

Strengths: Jin may not have big breaks under his belt, but he has the ability to attack in short bursts before retreating to safety, and accumulates good-sized breaks with ease. As one of a select few Chinese players featuring on the pro tour, now better able to deal with the expectation from home.

Weaknesses: Failed to settle in his English base as quickly as Ding Junhui, for example, and at 28 is no spring chicken. However, snooker players can play to a ripe old age so he has time to develop into a top-32 performer, should he possess enough ability.

Trivia: Based at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, which also hosts compatriots Liu Chuang, Liu Song, Liang Wenbo and Xiao Guodong.

Finished third in round-robin group at 2008 invitational Jiangsu Classic, ahead of former world champion Shaun Murphy, highly-rated countryman Liang Wenbo and Neil Robertson. Joe Perry and Ryan Day went through.

Liaoning province, where he was born, has a 42.2 million population, two thirds of Great Britain, but ranks only eighth in terms of gross domestic product in China.