Ding Junhui, also known by Enter the Dragon is one the most successful snooker players worldwide. He has won 14 major tournaments and reached the final of the World Championship twice. In fact, he is the most successful Asian player ever.
Chinese pro-snooker player, Liu Zhiyuan, was introduced to the sport by his father, who was an avid snooker fan. 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. In the same year, he won the IBSF World Under-21 Championship. He was the first professional title he won and he was ranked world number nine at end of 2006-07 season.
During his career, Ding has won a total of fourteen major ranking titles. He is also the three-time UK Champion. Having started playing professionally at age sixteen, Ding has compiled more than 500 century breaks throughout his career. However, his absences in recent years have had a negative impact on his match sharpness. Ding, however, has a large following on social media in China.
Ding reached 18 years of age and reached the China Open final. After that, he became the first player not from Great Britain or Ireland to win an international 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. Currently, he is ranked ninth in the world. And he has not played in a big money ranking event since 2017.
However, the 34-year-old has a strong resume. He has won more than $5 million in major tournaments. He won five ranking events tournaments in 2013-14 and made it to semifinals of Ladbrokes World Grand Prix. He was defeated in the quarter finals by Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, and Shaun Murphy.
In 2019, Ding won ten matches, and has compiled ten centuries breaks. Ding has also reached semifinals of Ladbrokes Players Tour Championship. His return to the World Championship is anticipated in January.
In addition, he has managed to beat the world top 16 players. He defeated Joe Perry. James Cahill. Thepchaiya UN-Nooh. In the semifinals of the Shangai Masters, he scored seven centuries.
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. After that, his ranking increased by seven spots to become the ninth-best snooker player in the world.
Ding was still in the top 16 positions. However, he was forced to drop out of the top 16. Ding was a fixture of the Asian snooker scene throughout his entire career.