Ding Junhui

 D.O.B. 01 Apr 1987




Lives Wuxi, Jiangsu Province



Last 5 Seasons13-11-9-27-62



Turned Pro 2003



Ranking Tournament Victories Four – China Open 2005; UK Championship 2005, 2009; Northern Ireland Trophy 2006



Last season World Snooker Tour prize money

£214,775



Highest Tournament Break 147 – Masters 2007, UK Championship 2008

The 2009/10 season marked a return to form for Ding, who had established himself as snooker’s most promising talent in 2005 and 2006, before suffering a dip in form which lasted nearly three years.

A run to the quarter-finals of the Roewe Shanghai Masters gave him a boost of confidence, and he carried that into the Grand Prix in Glasgow where he reached his first ranking final since 2006. Wins over Matthew Stevens, Stephen Maguire, Peter Ebdon and Mark Williams put the Chinese player through to a clash with Australia’s Neil Robertson; only the second ranking final between two non-British players in snooker history. Ding had to settle for the second prize, losing 9-4.

He didn’t have to wait long, however, to go one step further. At the Pukka Pies UK Championship in Telford in December, he knocked out Mike Dunn, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire to set up a final meeting with John Higgins.

A tightly-contested battle saw Ding play superbly in the closing stages to come from 7-6 down and win 10-8, showing his class and composure with a break of 75 which sealed victory.

“I've had a long time without winning so I'm so happy, it's crazy,” said Ding, who was accompanied, as ever, by his mum Chen Xi Juan. “I've been working very hard this season, practising six or seven hours a day with no breaks. There was a lot of pressure at the end of last season because I nearly dropped out of the top 16, so I'm surprised to play well in the first three tournaments this season.”

Part of his prize was his weight in Pukka Pies from the sponsor, and Ding showed his generous side by donating all 276 of the delicious snacks to a volunatary group in Sheffield which looks after homeless people at Christmas.

Ding carried his good form into 2010 by reaching the final of the Sanyuan Foods China Open in Beijing, enjoying victories over Gerard Greene, Mark Selby, Peter Ebdon and Mark Allen. But he then came up against a resurgent Mark Williams, losing a high-quality final 10-6.

As a resident of Sheffield, Ding might be considered to have an advantage at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship as he can commute to the Crucible from home rather than sleeping in an unfamiliar hotel bed. His results at snooker’s Theatre of Dreams do not reflect this, though, as he has yet to make it to the quarter-finals. This time he thumped Stuart Pettman 10-1 in the first round, but then lost 13-10 to Shaun Murphy. Ding finished the season in a career-high position of fifth in the world rankings, a superb result considering that he started the campaign 23rd on the provisional list.

Ding won the invitational Jiangsu Classic in his home city of Wuxi in 2008, beating Mark Selby 6-5 in the final.

He is the youngest player ever to win three ranking titles, and the only one other than John Higgins to do so before his 20th birthday.

His first title came at the 2005 China Open when he delighted his fans in Beijing by coming from 4-1 down to beat Hendry 9-5 in the final. His second came later that year at the UK Championship – his first major title on British soil and one which demonstrated to BBC Sport viewers the extent of his talent. It was exuberant youth against experience and wisdom at the tournament’s conclusion and he comfortably got the better of Steve Davis, 30 years his senior, 10-6.

His third came at the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast when he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-6.

Ding has become one of China’s most famous sportsmen, and is at the spearhead of an emerging army of Chinese players making an impact on the professional Tour.

In 2006 he came back from the Asian Games in Qatar, clutching a haul of three gold medals for the individual, doubles and team disciplines.

Ding won the World under-21 Championship at the age of 15, beating David John 11-9 in the final in Latvia.

His hobbies away from snooker include swimming, badminton and watching Jackie Chan movies. He also enjoys football -he supports Liverpool and enjoyed a backstage tour of Anfield in April 2007.