23 Facts About Ding Junhui

1. Ding Junhui takes on Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Masters semi-final on Saturday, hoping to make amends for a haunting previous contest between the two in the Triple Crown event.

2. Ding Junhui is seeking his first title since the 2017 Yushan World Open.

3. Ding Junhui faced O'Sullivan at the final [16] to become the second-youngest player to reach a Masters final.

4. Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player and the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport.

5. Ding Junhui is ranked in eighth before this one starts.

6. Ding Junhui looked set to pull off an incredible maximum break against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Masters, missing out but thrilling the crowd in the process.

7. Ding Junhui has reached the finals of UK Championship twice, winning each time in 2005 and 2009.

8. Ding Junhui has made six 147 maximum breaks in professional competition.

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

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

11. Ding Junhui finished the season ranked world number two, and was only prevented from taking the number one spot by Mark Selby winning the World Championship.

12. Ding Junhui beat Mark Selby in the 2012 Welsh Open to win his fifth ranking tournament and a cheque for £30,000.

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

14. Ding Junhui went on to defeat John Higgins in the final to claim his second UK crown.

15. In March 2007, Ding Junhui qualified for the televised stages of the 2007 World Championship for the first time after beating Mark Davis in the final qualifying round.

16. Ding Junhui appeared resigned to defeat, taking little time to consider his shot selection, and shook hands with O'Sullivan after the frame, after which O'Sullivan consoled an upset Ding and the two walked arm in arm to the backstage area.

17. In December 2006, Ding Junhui won three Gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games, winning the Single, Double and Team Snooker competitions.

18. Ding Junhui is a resident of England during the snooker season and practises at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

19. Away from snooker, Ding Junhui enrolled at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006 to study Business Administration and Management.

20. Ding Junhui became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship, in 2016.

21. Ding Junhui is the 2016 Six-red World Champion, and has won a total of 12 major ranking titles, the most recent being the 2017 World Open.

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

23. Ding Junhui began playing snooker at age 9, and rose to international prominence in 2002 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship, the Asian Championship, and becoming the youngest winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship at age 15.