Ding Junhui (also known as Enter The Dragon) is one of the most accomplished snooker players around. He has won 14 major tournaments over his career. He also reached the finals of the World Championship twice. He is considered to be one of the most successful Asian players in history.
His father, a passionate snooker fan, introduced the Chinese pro snooker player to the game when he was eight years old. He went to the Shanghai national snooker team as a child and has been a major success in the home country.
In 2007, Ding became the youngest player in history to make a televised 147 break. Ding also won the IBSF World Under-21 Championship that year. 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. Ding is also a 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. Despite this, Ding has a huge social media following in China.
At age 18, Ding reached the final of the China Open and then became the first player from outside Great Britain and Ireland to win a ranking title. He beat Marco Fu in the all-Asian final.
Ding is no longer the number one snooker player worldwide, despite his success in his home country. His career has taken a downward turn in the past six years. He currently ranks ninth in the world. Since 2017, he has not been in a major ranking event.
The 34-year old has a solid resume. He has won nearly $5 million in major tournaments. During the 2013-14 season, he won five ranking event tournaments and made it to the semifinals of the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix. He was defeated in the quarter finals by Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, and Shaun Murphy.
During the 2019 season, he has won ten matches and compiled ten century breaks. Ding also reached the semifinals at the Ladbrokes Players Tour Championship. Therefore, it is probable that Ding will return to January's World Championship.
He also beat the world's top 16 players. He defeated Joe Perry, Mark Williams, James Cahill, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. In addition, he achieved seven centuries during the semi-finals in the Shangai Masters.
When he was 18 years old, he won the Chinese National Championship and became the youngest player in the world to compile six maximum breaks. He rose seven spots in his ranking to become the ninth best snooker player on the planet.
Ding was still in the top 16 positions. Ding fell from the top 16 eventually. Ding has been a regular in the Asian Snooker scene all his life.