Ding Junhui, also known by Enter the Dragon is one the most successful snooker players worldwide. He has won 14 major tournaments during his career, and has reached the final of two World Championships. He is considered to be one of the most successful Asian players in history.
Chinese pro snooker players were introduced to the game by their father, who was a keen snooker enthusiast. As a youngster, he attended the Shanghai national snooker club and was a huge success in his home country.
In 2007, Ding became the youngest player in history to make a televised 147 break. He was also the winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship. He was awarded his first professional title. At the end of the 2006-07 seasons, he was ranked number nine in the world.
Ding has won 14 major ranking titles in his career. He is also the three-time UK Champion. Ding has more than 500 century break records throughout his career, having started playing professionally when he was sixteen. Unfortunately, Ding's absences in recent times have had a detrimental impact on his match-sharpness. Ding still has a large social media following in China.
Ding, then 18, reached the finals of the China Open. He was the first non-Irish player to win a ranking title. He also won his first all-Asian final against Marco Fu.
Ding, despite the success of his homeland, has not been in a position to keep his title as the top snooker player. His career has taken a downward turn in the past six years. He is currently ranked ninth around the globe. Since 2017, he hasn't participated in any big-money ranking events.
The 34-year-old is a strong player. He has won nearly $5 million in major tournaments. He won five ranking tournament tournaments during the 2013-14 season and reached the semifinals at the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix. But he lost to Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals.
He has won ten matches this season and had ten century records. Ding also reached the semifinals at the Ladbrokes Players Tour Championship. Therefore, it is probable that Ding will return to January's World Championship.
In addition, he has managed to beat the world top 16 players. He defeated Joe Perry and Mark Williams, James Cahill and Thepchaiya un-Nooh. In the semifinals of the Shangai Masters, he scored seven centuries.
He won the Chinese National Championship at 18 and became the youngest player ever to achieve six maximum break records. His ranking climbed seven places to rank him as the ninth-best snooker player worldwide.
Ding was ranked in the top 16 rankings before that. Ding fell from the top 16 eventually. Ding has been an integral part of the Asian snooker scene for most of his career.