48 Facts About Ding Junhui

Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player.

Ding Junhui is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport.

Ding Junhui has twice reached the final of the Masters, winning once in 2011.

Ding Junhui began playing snooker at age nine and rose to international prominence in 2002 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship and the Asian Championship.

In 2003, Ding Junhui turned professional at the age of 16.

Ding Junhui is the only Asian player to be ranked world number one, which he first achieved in 2014 to become the 11th player to reach the top spot.

Ding Junhui is a long-time resident of Sheffield, England, and owns the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy in the same city.

Ding Junhui was born on 1 April 1987, in Yixing, Jiangsu.

At eight years old, Ding Junhui tagged along with his father, a pool enthusiast, who wanted to practice with a local pool expert.

When his father went for a toilet break, Ding Junhui took the cue and played with the professional.

Since then, Ding Junhui's parents supported him in cue sports training, particularly snooker.

At age nine, he was taken by his father to the training center of the Chinese national snooker team near Shanghai and persuaded his mother to sell their home and grocery business so Ding Junhui could continue playing snooker as a career.

The family moved to Dongguan, Guangdong, and Ding Junhui left formal education at age 11 to practice snooker for eight hours each day.

Ding Junhui 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.

In February 2004, Ding Junhui was awarded a wildcard entry to the Masters held in London.

In December 2005, Ding Junhui beat Jimmy White, Paul Hunter, and Joe Perry to reach the final of the UK Championship.

In December 2006, Ding Junhui won three gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games, winning the single, double, and team snooker competitions.

On 14 January, Ding Junhui made a 147 break in his first-round match against Anthony Hamilton at the Masters, which was Ding Junhui's first maximum break and the first maximum break made at the competition since Kirk Stevens' in 1984.

Ding Junhui played O'Sullivan in the final, becoming the second-youngest player and the first Asian player to reach a Masters' final.

Ding Junhui appeared resigned to defeat, taking little time to consider his shot selection, and shook hands with O'Sullivan after the frame.

O'Sullivan won the match in the first frame after the interval; Ding Junhui later said he thought the match was a "best of 17".

On 16 December, in his second-round match against John Higgins at the 2008 UK Championship, Ding Junhui scored a maximum 147 break in the third frame.

Ding Junhui ended the season ranked world number five, an increase of eight places from the previous season.

Ding Junhui had a career-best run at the 2011 World Snooker Championship.

Ding Junhui ended the season with a career-high ranking of world number four.

Ding Junhui won the 2012 Championship League tournament and a place in the 2012 Premier League.

Ding Junhui finished the year ranked world number 11, having dropped seven places during the season.

Ding Junhui won the minor-ranking Scottish Open, defeating Anthony McGill in the final.

Ding Junhui finished sixth on the order of merit to qualify for the finals.

Ding Junhui made eight century breaks in the 20 frames he won during the tournament; no other player scored more than one.

In September 2013, Ding Junhui won his seventh ranking event title at the Shanghai Masters.

Ding Junhui was the runner-up in the Welsh Open to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Ding Junhui recovered from needing three snookers in the tenth frame when world 100-ranked Cahill left a free ball.

Ding Junhui held the top spot for a week before Robertson reclaimed it.

Ding Junhui failed to qualify for the German Masters and was knocked out in the first round of the Masters by Stuart Bingham.

Ding Junhui made the sixth 147 break of his career in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open against Neil Robertson.

Ding Junhui, who had won five ranking events two seasons before, had left the world's top 16 and needed to qualify for the World Championship.

Ding Junhui did so by winning three matches, conceding seven frames.

Ding Junhui compiled his 400th century break of his career during this run.

Ding Junhui made 15 century breaks during the championship, one short of the record of 16 set by Stephen Hendry in the 2002 Championship.

Ding Junhui said his game would continue to improve as he had played with more confidence and aggression throughout the event.

Ding Junhui's 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.

Ding Junhui looks like he doesn't really care that much anymore.

Ding Junhui has reached the finals of the UK Championship four times, winning in 2005,2009, and 2019 and losing in 2022.

Ding Junhui has made two appearances in the Masters' final, losing in 2007 and winning in 2011.

Ding Junhui's third came in the first round of the FFB Snooker Open in 2011.

Ding Junhui enrolled at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006 to study Business Administration and Management.

In 2014, Ding Junhui married Zhang Yuanyuan, known as Apple Zhang.