In January 2023, at the Guangzhou Snooker Championship, Ma Hailong defeated
Jiang Jun in the final to win the championship. In February 2023 Ma Hailong defeated
Stan Moody in the final of the WSF Championship in
Sydney, Australia where the win secured him the offer of a two-year card on the
World Snooker Tour. On the way to victory in the tournament he defeated
Liu Hongyu and former professional
Gao Yang. It was his first overseas tournament outside of China. Previously a student at the CBSA Academy branch in
Guangdong, after his win it was reported he was planning to move to the United Kingdom to be managed by Bobby Lee and Elite Sports Management. He entered into the invitational
2023 Six-red World Championship held in
Pathum Thani, Thailand in March 2023.
2023/24 He was entered into the draw at the
2023 Championship League held at the
Morningside Arena in
Leicester, England from 26 June 2023. He went unbeaten in his round-robin stage, earning draws against
Mink Nutcharut,
John Astley and
Gary Wilson. In August 2023, he defeated
Ian Burns to qualify for the latter rounds of the
2023 British Open. At the event, held in
Cheltenham in September 2023, he reached the last-16 of a ranking event for the first time. At the
2023 Northern Ireland Open he defeated 12th seed
Ryan Day in a deciding frame. In November 2023, he was on the receiving end of a maximum
147 break at the
2023 UK Championship in a 6–1 defeat by compatriot
Xu Si. In the first round of qualifying for the
2024 World Snooker Championship he defeated Brazilian
Victor Sarkis 10-1. In the second round, he overcame Englishman
Martin O'Donnell 10-7.
2024/25 In June 2024, he made a successful start to the
2024-25 snooker season at the
2024 Championship League in
Leicester, topping his round-Robin group that contained former world champion
John Higgins. He reached the last-16 at the
2024 Northern Ireland Open where he was defeated by Mark Williams. In December 2024 he reached the last-32 of the
2024 Snooker Shoot Out with a win over Lewis Ullah. He reached the last-32 of the
2025 Welsh Open with a win over
Shaun Murphy. He was defeated by
Duane Jones in the second round of qualifying for the 2025 World Snooker Championship. Following the conclusion of his two-year tour card he entered the Asia-Oceania Q School in May 2025 but was defeated in the first event by Cambodia's Chhay Suon. == Performance and rankings timeline ==