Li had previously appeared as a wildcard at several ranking tournaments, such as the 2008 China Open where he pushed Marco Fu to a deciding frame, narrowly losing 5–4. The following season he appeared at the 2008 Shanghai Masters where he lost 5–1 to Andy Hicks. He then played in several Asian Tour Events, reaching the last 16 on two occasions, before appearing at the 2017 China Open wildcard round where he was defeated by 5-1 by Jimmy White.