Latest news with #DingJunhui
Arab Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Arab Times
Chinese players miss out on quarterfinals at Snooker Masters in Jeddah
JEDDAH, Aug 14, (Xinhua): All four Chinese players, including Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui, failed to advance to the quarterfinals at the 2025 Snooker Masters after suffering defeats in their last-16 matches in Jeddah. World Championship winner Zhao Xintong once again faced Chris Wakelin after having faced each other at both the World Championship and the Shanghai Masters. Wakelin fired a century break in the third frame to establish a 3-1 lead by the mid-session interval. After the break, Zhao found his scoring touch, producing breaks of over 50 in four consecutive frames to move 5-3 ahead. However, Wakelin capitalized on Zhao's errors to win the next three frames, sealing a 6-5 comeback victory. Ding Junhui's clash with Barry Hawkins was equally dramatic. Ding fell 0-2 behind early on, but recovered with a 113 break in the third frame and went on to take four frames in a row. However, Hawkins fought back from the brink of defeat to force a decider and edged past Ding 6-5. Facing China's Chang Bingyu, seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan displayed remarkable composure and competitive strength, overturning a 2-5 deficit to claim four straight frames for a 6-5 victory. In another match, Kyren Wilson met China's rising star Si Jiahui for the second time since last month's Shanghai Masters. Fresh from winning the Shanghai title, Wilson maintained his strong form, defeating Si 6-3 once again.
The Sun
02-08-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Zhao Xintong falls victim to Ding Junhui Curse at Shanghai Masters as he loses first snooker match for nine months
ZHAO XINTONG lost his first snooker match for nine months as he fell victim to the Ding Junhui Curse. Kyren Wilson moved into Sunday's final of the Shanghai Masters with a superb 10-5 victory over China's reigning world snooker champion. 2 2 The Warrior, 33, scored breaks of 66, 75, 70, 95, 70, 101 and 51 across the 15 frames and crucially claimed all SIX frames in the evening session. For Xintong, it was a first defeat since losing to Shaun Murphy in the Last 32 of the UK Championship in York on November 23, 2024. After that loss in the North Yorkshire cathedral city, Xintong won an astonishing 26 matches in a row, which included lifting the Crucible crown in historic scenes for his country. But Xintong's Far East homecoming was ruined by the Kettering cueist as he completely flopped in the evening action. The Cyclone potted breaks of 113, 59, 95 and then a 121 to lead 5-4 in the afternoon but when nighttime came, he was outclassed by the Englishman. And forget all about the Crucible Curse, which he has to negotiate next spring in Sheffield – the Curse of Ding Junhui struck again in a competitive environment. This was the 21st time in a row that someone had beaten Ding, 38, and then LOST their next match. A run that stretches back to John Higgins being the first victim at the Players Championship in February 2024 in Telford. It is a quirk that whoever manages to eliminate Ding, the Godfather of Chinese snooker, from a tournament cannot repeat the victory in the next appearance. Robbie Williams is the last person, at the 2024 Welsh Open, to have knocked out Ding and then won his next match. Wilson, the world No.2, faces Ali Carter in the final, the best of 21 frames, at the Luwan Gymnasium and the winner will earn a £210,000 jackpot. Kyren Wilson said: 'The crowd were massively on Zhao Xintong's side, which is obviously to be expected out here. He's an absolute local hero. 'I managed to settle quite early in the game and find a bit of rhythm. 'It was about going back to the hotel, resetting and recharging and coming out firing for the evening. 'Snooker is booming in China. You can feel an air of expectation every time Xintong turns up for a match. I knew I had to play well. 'We are both young guys and the most recent world champions. Hopefully it's a game the Chinese fans can enjoy for many years to come. 'I did hear about the curse. It's a mad stat. Maybe Ding Junhui is so good he takes it out of you when you beat him. 'Who knows? It's a crazy stat. I am sure Ding enjoys it. 'Ali Carter has battled through some tough deciding matches, which is what he does best. He's a fantastic match player. A very gritty, determined character. 'I will have to dig deep and play some of the best snooker I have played in maybe the last 18 months.'
Wales Online
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
'I don't' – Ken Doherty disagrees with Stephen Hendry's comments about Ding Junhui
'I don't' – Ken Doherty disagrees with Stephen Hendry's comments about Ding Junhui Ken Doherty is at odds with old rival Stephen Hendry over how Ding Junhui will be feeling about Zhao Xintong becoming the first world snooker champion from China Ding Junhui had been widely tipped to be China's first world champion (Image:) Ken Doherty has dismissed Stephen Hendry's theory that Ding Junhui will be jealous that Zhao Xintong has become China's first world snooker champion. Ding has been China's standard-setter for almost two decades and was widely expected to be the first world champion from the snooker-mad country. Despite winning the sport's two other Triple Crown titles, the Masters and the UK Championship, Ding, 38, hasn't managed to win the top prize, which has now gone to Zhao, who defeated Mark Williams 18-12 in the final, having started out in the first round of qualifying. While Zhao is a former UK champion himself, he had to start again after serving a 20-month ban for his part in the match-fixing scandal that saw nine other Chinese players punished. Seven are still serving suspensions, including two who were given lifetime bans. Following Zhao's historic Crucible triumph, seven-time world champion Hendry said Ding would be 'fuming'. But Doherty, who beat Hendry in 1997 to win his only world title, does not subscribe to that theory, although he accepts Ding may feel a little envious. Talking to , the Irishman said: 'I don't think he [Ding Junhui] will be jealous. I think he might be slightly envious. Ding was sort of the godfather of Chinese snooker. 'He was the pioneer. He showed the way for a lot of the young guys, including Xintong. And he would have helped him. Article continues below Zhao Xintong is now the top man in Chinese snooker after winning the World Championship (Image: Getty ) 'He set up an academy here in Sheffield with 18 snooker tables. Five or six of the lads who qualified for the World Championship play in his club. So he sort of opened his arms. And then there's another academy [Victoria's], where Xintong and Si Jiahui play. 'He might be a little bit envious, that's understandable. He started the whole revolution of Chinese snooker, and I think in a way he'll be somewhat satisfied that eventually they have a world champion now.' Hendry would feel aggrieved if he were in Ding's shoes. Speaking on the Snooker Club podcast after the final, the Scot said: 'It'll be really interesting to see what Ding's thinking. Stephen Hendry doesn't think Ding Junhui will be happy (Image: Getty Images ) 'He's been the benchmark for Chinese snooker. He will be fuming. If it was me, I'd be fuming. The fact is that Ding is snooker in China. Overnight, he is not Mr Snooker anymore. Article continues below 'It might spur him on, who knows, but it's something that's going to be difficult for him to handle, actually. If it was me, I'm Ding Junhui, I'm not happy tonight. I don't know Ding well, maybe he's close to Zhao and he's delighted for him.'
Daily Record
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Zhao Xintong winning World Snooker Championship has rival 'fuming' as Stephen Hendry floats jealousy theory
Hendry isn't sure how Ding Junhui will cope with his compatriot becoming first Asian player to win the world title after betting ban Stephen Hendry reckons Ding Junhui will be "fuming" after Zhaoi Xintong pipped him to a major snooker milestone. The Chinese star became the first Asian player to win the World Championship after beating Welsh favourite Mark Williams 18-12 at the Crucible this week. Xintong, who served a 20 month suspension for gambling offences, was a qualifier for the tournament and went all the way, knocking Ronnie O'Sullivan out in the semis before his final triumph. And seven-time word champ Hendry doesn't think that will have gone down well with Ding, who lost in his only final appearance nine years ago is no longer the only face of the sport in China now. "It'll be really interesting to see what Ding's thinking," the Scot told the Snooker Club podcast. "He's been the benchmark for Chinese snooker. He will be fuming. If it was me I'd be fuming. "The fact is that Ding is snooker in China, Ding Junhui is snooker. Overnight he is not Mr Snooker anymore. It might spur him on, who knows, but it's something that's going to be difficult for him to handle, actually. "If it was me, I'm Ding Junhui, I'm not happy tonight. I don't know Ding well, maybe he's close to Zhao and he's delighted for him. "But if it was me I'm thinking: 'I'm not happy that I've had so many years to do it, I haven't managed to do it, this guy's come along after being out of the game for two years and just done it, qualified and done it.' He's now the man in China. "There's a huge exhibition circuit, huge invitational tournament circuit apart from the ranking tournaments. Ding has to be there, Ding has to be involved, Ding is often one of the co-promoters and it's all about Ding. It's not going to be like that." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here. Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
South China Morning Post
09-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
World champ Zhao Xintong says Hong Kong snooker players should move to UK to succeed
Zhao Xintong has said Hong Kong's snooker hopefuls needed to live and train in the United Kingdom if they wanted to follow in his footsteps and one day become world champion. Advertisement The first Asian to win the world title, the 28-year-old believed moving from Shenzhen to Sheffield at 17 to pursue his dream of being a professional had been key to his historic victory. Zhao, who spent three years washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant as he honed his craft, practises at Victoria's Snooker Academy, which cultivated current world No 15 Sun Jiahui and former No 10 Zhang Anda. The facility is a 10-minute walk from Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, where Zhao became China's newest sporting star. It is a road well travelled. Ding Junhui, the first Asian player to reach the final of the world championships in 2016, is also based there and opened his own snooker academy in the city, which boasts graduates Xiao Guodong, Tian Pengfei and Zhou Yuelong. Advertisement Hong Kong's players, meanwhile, tend to base themselves at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), which pays 24 billiards players a monthly elite level allowance, ranging from HK$12,480 to HK$54,150, depending on performance.
