Ding Junhui

Ding rose to international prominence in 2002 at age 15, when he won the Asian Under-21 Championship, the Asian Championship, and became the youngest ever winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship.[5] He was unable to progress much in 2003 when both Asian tournaments were canceled because of the 2002–03 SARS virus outbreak, but he reached the semi-finals of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship, and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) awarded him a concession to play on the main snooker tour, which enabled him to turn professional in September 2003.[5] In the same year, Ding became the number-one-ranked player in China.[6]

In February 2004, Ding was awarded a wildcard entry to the Masters held in London. In the wildcard round, he beat the world number 16 player Joe Perry.[7] In the first round, he lost 5–6 to Stephen Lee after leading 5–2.[8] In April 2005, Ding celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, defeating world top 16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu, and Ken Doherty. In the final, Ding beat the world number three Stephen Hendry by 9–5 to win his first ranking tournament. The match was watched by 110 million people on China's national sports channel CCTV-5; it was the largest television audience recorded for a snooker match.[9] In December 2005, Ding beat Jimmy White, Paul Hunter, and Joe Perry to reach the final of the UK Championship. In the final, he beat Steve Davis by 10–6 to become the first player from outside the UK to win the tournament.[10] Ding's provisional world ranking rose from 62 at the start of the 2005–06 season to 27 at the end of the season.[11][12]

At the 2006 China Open, Ding lost 2–6 in the semi-finals to eventual winner Mark Williams.[13] During the Northern Ireland Trophy event, he beat Stephen Lee 6–1 in the semi-finals. In the final, Ding defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–6 to win his third ranking tournament, becoming the third person under 20 to do so after O'Sullivan and John Higgins.[14][15] In December 2006, Ding won three gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games, winning the single, double, and team snooker competitions.[16] The following week, he reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 UK Championship as the defending champion, but lost 5–9 to his practice partner and eventual winner Peter Ebdon.[17] Ding ended the 2006–07 season ranked world number nine, which was his first top-ten placement.[12]

Mark Selby (left) and Ding at the World Series of Snooker in Moscow, 2008

In January 2007, Ding defeated Cao Xinlong 5–4 to reach the final of the Chinese National Championship in his home town of Yixing, Jiangsu. He defeated Xiao Guodong in the final by 6–2 to become the national champion again.[18] On 14 January, Ding made a 147 break in his first-round match against Anthony Hamilton at the Masters, which was Ding's first maximum break and the first maximum break made at the competition since Kirk Stevens' in 1984.[19] The break made Ding the youngest player to make a televised 147—a record previously held by Ronnie O'Sullivan—and the first Chinese player to make a televised maximum.[19] Ding played O'Sullivan in the final, becoming the second-youngest player and the first Asian player to reach a Masters' final.[20]

After Ding won the first two frames, O'Sullivan went on to dominate the match. This, along with the boisterous and hostile nature of the London crowd, led Ding to leave the table in tears during the twelfth frame when he was trailing 3–8 in the best-of-19-frames contest. Ding appeared resigned to defeat, taking little time to consider his shot selection, and shook hands with O'Sullivan after the frame. O'Sullivan consoled Ding and they walked arm-in-arm to the backstage area. Because it was the last frame before the mid-session interval, it was uncertain whether Ding had conceded the match. O'Sullivan won the match in the first frame after the interval; Ding later said he thought the match was a "best of 17".[20][21][22]

Ding was defeated in the first round of the next two consecutive tournaments, losing 2–5 to Stephen Maguire in the 2007 Malta Cup[23] and 1–5 to Jamie Cope in the Welsh Open.[24] In March 2007, Ding qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship for the first time after beating Mark Davis in the final qualifying round.[25] His losing streak in ranking tournaments continued, with a 3–5 loss to Barry Hawkins in the first round of the China Open and a 2–10 loss against O'Sullivan at the World Championship. Despite this, Ding ended the 2006–07 season ranked world number 11.[12]

The following season, Ding was consistent, reaching the last 16 of all-but-one ranking event. However, he failed to reach a single semi-final, causing him to drop to number 13 in the world rankings.[12] At the 2008 World Snooker Championship, Ding reached the second round for the first time, beating Marco Fu 10–9 before losing 7–13 to Stephen Hendry. During the 2007 Premier League Snooker, Ding recorded 495 unanswered points (most points without reply) against Stephen Hendry, setting a record for the most unanswered points in any professional snooker tournament.[26] The record was surpassed in 2014 when Ronnie O'Sullivan recorded 556 unanswered points against Ricky Walden.[27]

Ding started the 2008–09 season on a high, winning the Jiangsu Classic after beating Ryan Day 4–0 in the semi-final and Mark Selby 6–5 in the final.[28] In October, he participated in the third event of the World Series of Snooker. Ding won the event after defeating Ken Doherty 6–4 in the final.[29] In the fourth event in November, Ding defeated Mark Selby 4–2 in the semi-final, before losing 0–5 to John Higgins in the final.[30] On 16 December, in his second-round match against John Higgins at the 2008 UK Championship, Ding scored a maximum 147 break in the third frame.[31]

Ding began the 2009/2010 season by reaching the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters. He reached the final of the Grand Prix by defeating Matthew Stevens 5–4 in the first round, Stephen Maguire 5–1 in the second round, Peter Ebdon 5–2 in the quarter-finals, and Mark Williams 6–1 in the semi-finals, losing 4–9 to Neil Robertson in the final.[32] At the 2009 UK Championship, Ding reached the final after defeating Mike Dunn 9–5, Shaun Murphy 9–3, Ali Carter 9–8, and Stephen Maguire 9–5.[33] He went on to defeat John Higgins 10–8 in the final to win his second UK title.[34]

After losing against Mark Selby 1–6 at the Masters and Jamie Cope 3–5 at the Welsh Open, Ding returned to form, scoring nine century breaks on his way to the final of the China Open. He lost 6–10 to Mark Williams despite leading 5–4 at the end of the first session.[35] At the World Championship, Ding defeated Stuart Pettman 10–1 in the first round.[36] He lost 10–13 against Shaun Murphy in the second round.[37] Ding ended the season ranked world number five, an increase of eight places from the previous season.[12]

At the 2010 Wuxi Classic, Ding lost 8–9 in the final despite leading 8–2.[38] Ding reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters and the quarter-finals of the World Open, where he lost 1–5 to Jamie Cope and 2–3 to Mark Williams.[39][40] Ding failed to defend his 2010 UK Championship title, losing 8–9 against Mark Allen.[41] In January 2011, Ding reached his second Masters final, beating Jamie Cope 6–3 in the semi-final. Ding won the Masters for the first time, beating Marco Fu 10–4 in the first-ever all-Chinese Masters final.[42][43]

Ding had a career-best run at the 2011 World Snooker Championship. He beat Jamie Burnett 10–2 in the first round, advancing to the last 16 of the World Championship for the fourth consecutive year.[44] He played Stuart Bingham in the second round; he was losing 9–12 with his opponent needing one frame for victory but Ding made a comeback, winning four consecutive frames to win 13–12 and reach the quarter-finals of the world championship for the first time in his career.[45] In his quarter-final with Mark Selby, Ding led 10–6 after the first two sessions of the match. Selby built strong momentum by winning the first four frames of the last session to level at 10–10. Ding won the match 13–10 to set up a semi-final against Judd Trump.[46] In their semi-final, Ding and Trump were level at 12–12 after the third session. In the last session, Trump built momentum and led 14–12 but Ding won the next three frames with a 138 break to tie Mark King for highest tournament break and a 119 break. Ding lost the next three frames and lost the match 15–17.[47] He ended the season with a career-high ranking of world number four.[12]

At the 2011 Wuxi Classic, Ding lost 5–6 to Mark Selby in the semi-finals,[48] failing to reach the tournament's final for the first time.[49] At the World Cup, Ding and Liang Wenbo partnered to represent China. They won the final, 4–2, against Northern Ireland.[50] Ding lost 2–5 against Stuart Bingham in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open.[51] At the second event of the Players Tour Championship, Ding reached the final but lost 0–4 against Judd Trump.[52] Ding was knocked out by Neil Robertson 6–2 in the quarter-finals of the 2011 UK Championship.[53] Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Ding in the Masters for the third time in his career, losing in the first round 4–6.[54]

Ding beat Mark Selby in the 2012 Welsh Open to win his fifth ranking tournament and £30,000.[55] Ding's form continued. He won the 2012 Championship League tournament and a place in the 2012 Premier League.[56] Ding reached the semi-finals of the China Open but was eliminated after losing 3–6 to eventual winner Peter Ebdon.[57] Ding ended the season with a defeat in the first round of the World Championship, losing 9–10 to Ryan Day having had a 9–6 lead. After the match, Ding criticized the condition of the tables at the event and the attitude of the audience, saying both were "rubbish".[58] He finished the year ranked world number 11, having dropped seven places during the season.[12]

Ding Junhui at the 2013 German Masters

Ding did not progress past the second round of the first six ranking events of the 2012–13 season and found himself ranked world number 11 in December.[59][60] He won the minor-ranking Scottish Open, defeating Anthony McGill in the final.[61] Ding's form then improved; at the Welsh Open, he beat Mark King, Mark Allen, and Robert Milkins to reach the semi-finals, where he was beaten 5–6 by Stuart Bingham.[62] At the World Open, he was defeated 0–5 by John Higgins in the quarter-finals.[59] His title at the Scottish Open formed part of the Players Tour Championship events. Ding finished sixth on the order of merit to qualify for the finals.[63]

At the finals, Ding made the fifth 147 of his career in the first frame of his quarter-final against Allen and made two more century breaks in a 4–3 win.[64] He beat Kurt Maflin 4–0 in the semi-finals; in the final, he recovered from 0–3 against Neil Robertson to take his sixth ranking title with a 4–3 win.[65] Ding made eight century breaks in the 20 frames he won during the tournament; no other player scored more than one.[66] His poor form in tournaments played in China continued; he was beaten 3–5 by Barry Hawkins in the first round of the China Open.[67] Ding beat veteran Alan McManus 10–5 in the first round of the World Championship and recovered from 2–6 after the first session against Mark King in the second round to lead 9–7 after the next session and won 13–9.[59][68] Ding faced Barry Hawkins in the quarter-finals and played inconsistently throughout the match, losing 7–13.[69] His end-of-season world ranking was 10.[12]

Ding with the 2014 German Masters trophy

In the second round of the 2013 Wuxi Classic, Ding lost 1–5 to Joe Perry. At the minor-ranking Bluebell Wood Open, he made a rare 146 break while beating Jimmy Robertson in the quarter-finals before losing 3–4 to Marco Fu in the semi-finals.[70] In September 2013, Ding won his seventh ranking event title at the Shanghai Masters. The final against Xiao Guodong was the first all-Chinese final of a ranking event in the history of snooker. Ding made a century break and seven more breaks above 50 to win 10–6.[71] He then played at the Ruhr Open, a minor-ranking event, losing 1–4 to Mark Allen in the final.[72]

Following that, Ding played in the first Indian Open, defeating Aditya Mehta 5–0 in the final to become the first player to win back-to-back major-ranking event titles in the same season since Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2003.[73] Ding continued dominating the game in the following major ranking event, the International Championship, where he beat Graeme Dott 9–7 in the semi-finals with a 63-point clearance in the last frame.[74] In the final—the second all-Chinese ranking event final in three ranking events—Ding and Marco Fu compiled seven century breaks; Ding five and Fu two. Ding rallied from 8–9 down to win the final two frames and became the first player to win three consecutive major-ranking events since Stephen Hendry won five consecutively in 1990.[75]

After his hat-trick, Ding reached world number three in the rankings for the first time in his career, before reaching number two just behind Neil Robertson. Ding won two more ranking titles; the German Masters, beating Judd Trump 9–5 in the final, and the China Open by beating Robertson 10–5 in the final to equal Hendry's season record of five wins.[76][77] He was also the runner-up in the Welsh Open to Ronnie O'Sullivan.[78] At the World Championship, however, Ding was defeated by world number 75 Michael Wasley 10–9 in the first round, which Ding had led 6–3 and 9–8.[79] Ding finished the season ranked world number two—a career high—and was held off the number-one spot by Mark Selby, who won the World Championship.[12] Ding was fined £5,000 and referred to the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee by the WSL for failing to attend their awards dinner.[80]

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Ding failed to qualify for the televised stages of the 2014 Wuxi Classic, losing 0–5 to Oliver Brown in the qualifiers.[81] Ding, however, then won the Yixing Open with a 4–2 victory over Michael Holt in the final.[82] At the Shanghai Masters, he was defeated 6–4 by Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals after losing the last four frames of the match.[83] Ronnie O'Sullivan eliminated Ding 6–4 in the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions.[84]

Ding Junhui at the 2015 German Masters

In the third round of the 2014 UK Championship, Ding fought from 1–5 down to send his match against James Cahill to a deciding frame. Ding recovered from needing three snookers in the tenth frame when world 100-ranked Cahill left a free ball. In the final frame, however, Ding missed a red when on a break of 32, which allowed Cahill a chance to knock him out, which he did.[85] Despite the loss, Ding became the 11th world number one and first from Asia thanks to early eliminations of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson.[86]

Ding held the top spot for a week before Robertson reclaimed it.[87] Ding's poor form continued into 2015 as he was eliminated in the first round in six successive events: 3–6 to Joe Perry at the Masters; 4–5 to Ryan Day at the German Masters; 1–4 to world number 115 Lee Walker at the Welsh Open; 3–4 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at the Indian Open; 1–4 to Ricky Walden at the World Grand Prix; and 1–4 to Joe Perry at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final.[88][89] His form improved at the China Open as he defeated Marcus Campbell and Mark Davis—both 5–1—and Mark Williams 5–2 to reach the quarter-finals, where he beat John Higgins 5–4 on the colors.[90] In Ding's second ranking-event semi-final of the season, he tied the scores at 5–5 after being 3–5 down to world number 56 Gary Wilson but lost the deciding frame.[91]

In the opening rounds of the World Championship, Ding came back from 0–4 down against Mark Davis to win 10–7 and from 1–5 down against John Higgins to win 13–9.[92][93] Ding lost the first six frames of his quarter-final match against Judd Trump and was beaten 13–4.[94] He ended the season ranked world number four.[12]

In the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters, Ding lost 4–5 on the final black to Kyren Wilson.[95] Ding won the Haining Open, defeating Ricky Walden 4–3 in the final. It was Ding's first title carrying ranking points in 16 months.[96] In the main ranking events, he was knocked out in the second round of the International Championship and in the first round of the 2015 UK Championship by amateur player Adam Duffy. After losing to Duffy, Ding's press conference, during which he swore and criticized the conditions at the event, lasted less than one minute.[97] He also failed to qualify for the German Masters and was knocked out in the first round of the Masters by Stuart Bingham.[98]

Ding made the sixth 147 break of his career in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open against Neil Robertson. Ding also made a 120 but these were the only frames he won and he was defeated 5–2.[99] At the World Grand Prix, Ding beat Ben Woollaston 4–3, Peter Ebdon 4–0, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–3 to reach his first semi-final of the season against Shaun Murphy, which he lost 3–6.[98] In the quarter-finals of the PTC Finals, Ding was defeated 4–2 by Barry Hawkins and he lost 1–5 to Lee Walker in the China Open qualifying.[100] Ding, who had won five ranking events two seasons before, had left the world's top 16 and needed to qualify for the World Championship. He did so by winning three matches, conceding seven frames. He compiled his 400th century break of his career during this run. Ding beat Martin Gould by 10–8 and Judd Trump by 13–10 in the first and second rounds, respectively.[101] He defeated Mark Williams 13–3 in the quarter-finals and Alan McManus 17–11 in the semi-final, during which he set a new record of seven century breaks, the most scored by a single player in a World Championship match at the Crucible Theatre. With this victory, Ding became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship.[102][103] He made 15 century breaks during the championship, one short of the record of 16 set by Stephen Hendry in the 2002 Championship. Ding lost the final 14–18 to Mark Selby.[104] His end-of-season world ranking was nine.[12]

Ding won the 2016 Six-red World Championship, beating Stuart Bingham on the final black in the final by 8–7.[105] Ding won his second Shanghai Masters title, defeating Mark Selby 10–6 in the final. It was the 12th ranking-tournament win of his career and he also became the first player to win the event twice.[106] Ding defeated John Higgins 6–2 and Judd Trump 9–4 to reach the final of the International Championship, where he made a high break of 47 but Mark Selby won the last seven frames to beat him 10–1.[107] In the semi-finals of the 2016 Champion of Champions, Ding made four centuries but was beaten 6–5 by Higgins.[108] He lost 2–6 to Jamie Jones in the third round of the UK Championship.[109] In the first round of the Players Championship, Ding recovered from being 0–4 down to Higgins to win 5–4. He then defeated Anthony Hamilton 5–2.[110] Ding was 5–3 up against Marco Fu in the semi-finals but lost the match 5–6.[111]

Ding was eliminated from the China Open in the quarter-finals after losing 1–5 to Kyren Wilson.[112] At the World Championship, Ding beat Zhou Yuelong in the first round by 10–5 and, after leading 6–2 and 9–7, Liang Wenbo was leading Ding 13–11 in the second round. Ding made a 132 break to level the match and a 70 in the decider to progress with a score of 13–12.[113] He played Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals. Despite a career-record ten losses and two wins prior to the match, Ding won 13–10.[114][115] In his semi-final with Mark Selby, Ding made two consecutive centuries to end the third session at 12–12. He won two frames from 16 to 13 down but missed a blue in the next frame and lost 15–17. Ding said his game would continue to improve as he had played with more confidence and aggression throughout the event.[116] He ended the season ranked world number four.[12]

At the 2017 World Cup, Ding and China's number-two player, Liang Wenbo, defeated the English pair, Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins, in a deciding frame, winning the event 4–3.[117] Ding led the Chinese team at the CVB Snooker Challenge, losing 9–26 to the British team. He lost 1–6 to the captain of the British team, Ronnie O'Sullivan.[118] He then participated in the second China Championship but was defeated in a 5–0 whitewash to Alan McManus in the last 32 in a rematch of the semi-finals of the 2015 World Championship.[119] As the defending Six-red World Champion, Ding lost 1–6 to Marco Fu in the last 16.[120] Ding won the World Open, beating Luca Brecel 6–4 in the semi-finals and Kyren Wilson 10–3 in the final.[121]

In 2018, Ding returned to form and reached the final of the World Grand Prix, where he won a 6–5 victory over Mark Selby in the semi-final.[122] Ding struggled in the final, losing 3–10 to Ronnie O'Sullivan.[123] He finished the season ranked world number six.[12]

At the 2018 Six-red World Championship, Ding defeated Luca Brecel 7–6 in the semi-final, but lost 4–8 to Kyren Wilson in the final.[124] At the 2018 Shanghai Masters, he won his second round match 6–3 against Mark Allen. He then beat Mark Selby 6–5 in the quarter-final, before losing 9–10 to Barry Hawkins in the semi-final.[125]

In January 2019, Ding participated in the Masters, beating Jack Lisowski 6–1 in the first round and Luca Brecel 6–5 in the quarter-final. He lost 3–6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-final.[126] At the 2019 German Masters, Ding defeated Fergal O'Brien 5–3 in the last 32 and Xiao Guodong 5–4 in the last 16. However, he lost 3–5 to Duane Jones in the quarter-final.[127] At the 2019 World Snooker Championship, Ding beat Anthony McGill 10–7 in the first round, but lost 9–13 to Judd Trump in the second round.[128] His end-of-season world ranking was ten.[12]

In the 2019–20 season, Ding and compatriot Yan Bingtao participated in the World Cup.[129] They beat Andy Lee and Cheung Ka Wai 4–0 in the quarter-finals, before losing 1–4 in the semi-finals to eventual winners John Higgins and Stephen Maguire.[130] Ding reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 International Championship.[131] At the 2019 Six-red World Championship, he reached the quarter-finals, losing to Gary Wilson after a 5–4 lead.[132]

At the 2019 UK Championship, Ding beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–4 in the last 16.[133] He defeated Liang Wenbo in the quarter-finals and Yan Bingtao in the semi-finals, both by 6–2.[133][134] In the final, Ding beat Stephen Maguire 10–6, clinching his third UK title and his first since 2009. His win made him the fifth player to win the UK title three or more times, and it was his first ranking event win since 2017.[135] Throughout the competition, Ding compiled ten century breaks, including four during the final.[135][136] Following the event, his ranking increased seven spots to ninth.[135] Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Ding did not participate at another event until the 2020 World Snooker Championship. At the World Championship, Ding led Mark King 9–7 in their first round match before King won two 50-minute frames to level the match at 9–9 and send it into a decider. Ding won the deciding frame to progress 10–9 where he would face O'Sullivan in round two. After two very tight sessions, the players were tied at 4–4 and then 8–8 going into the third and final session. O'Sullivan proved too strong in the third session and Ding eventually lost the match 10–13.

Ding's best performances during the 2020–21 season were reaching the quarter-finals of four ranking tournaments as well as the quarter-finals of the Champion of Champions.[137] His season ended with a 9–10 loss to Stuart Bingham in the first round of the 2021 World Snooker Championship.[138] By late 2021, he had won just one ranking event in the previous four years, had missed many tournaments through choice or circumstance, and had struggled to practice while spending long stretches of time in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.[139] After he lost 3–6 to world number 55 Sam Craigie in the last 64 of the 2021 UK Championship, he fell out of the top 16 in the world rankings, meaning that he did not qualify for the Masters for the first time since he was 18 years old in 2006.[139] Speaking on BBC Two after Ding's loss to Craigie, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry expressed concern about Ding's future in the sport: "I don't know what has happened to Ding. I don't know whether we have seen the best of him. He looks like he doesn't really care that much anymore... Any pressure balls he does not look like getting anymore. I don't know where Ding goes from here."[140] After Ding lost 3–4 to world number 65 Zhang Anda in the qualifying round of the Scottish Open, pundit Alan McManus echoed Hendry's concerns, stating that Ding had "big problems to fix."[141] In January 2022, Ding was ranked 30th in the world, was 68th on the one-year ranking list, and had fallen to become China's fourth-ranked player, behind Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, and Zhou Yuelong.[142]

Ding beat compatriot Tian Pengfei 6–4 and David Lilley 10–7 in the third and final qualifying rounds of the 2022 World Championship but lost 8–10 to Kyren Wilson in the first round, showing signs of frustration during the match.[143][144] It was Ding's 16th consecutive year at the Crucible.[145][146]

Before the 2022 UK Championship, Ding had fallen to 38th in the world rankings and had to win two qualifying matches to reach the tournament's main stage. However, Ding reached his first ranking final in three years with wins, including a 6–0 whitewash of world number one O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals. Ding lost 7–10 to Mark Allen in the final, despite having led 6–1. As runner-up, he advanced from 38th to 19th place in the world rankings.[147]