The 2022 snooker opener Champions League is about to start, and the World Taiwan Federation has announced the specific participation list a few days ago. Judging from the list, a total of 24 Players from China participated in the competition, among which Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, who were known as the "Future Leaders of China's Snooker", led the expedition. However, in the first game of this new season, there is no figure of Ding Junhui, the "first brother of Chinese billiards".
Ding Junhui's abandonment of the game has triggered a heated discussion among the majority of netizens, some people believe that the championship of this Champions League has a low gold content and very little bonus, for top players, although the game is linked to the world ranking, but the help to improve technology is not very large, so Ding Junhui and many top players choose to give up the game. Of course, there are also people who say that Ding Junhui's current state has declined badly, he has missed many competitions before, and he has devoted himself to the business world with one mind, and he has long since stopped thinking of himself as an athlete, and naturally he will not take the competition in his eyes.
For the Chinese, even if they know very little about snooker, the vast majority of people are not unfamiliar with the name Ding Junhui. Ding Junhui, known as the "billiard prodigy", stood on the podium of the world championship at the age of 13 and became the leader of China's billiards industry. However, as his fame grew, his strength and reputation gradually began to decline. Gradually, he began to rarely see him on the snooker field, and when he was hard to see him compete, he dropped the chain many times at key moments, which disappointed a group of fans who loved him, and the evaluation of him began to mix.
Especially in recent times, Ding Junhui has not only been upset at the World Championships and suffered a round of travel, but also put more time into expanding his business territory, frequently appearing in various business activities, as if he has forgotten his own identity, and his body is plastered with the label of "businessman". I have to say that the commercial atmosphere of Ding Junhui is indeed getting stronger and stronger, and his wealth is as high as hundreds of millions, no wonder even Ollie Chavin will say that Ding Junhui looks more like a businessman than a snooker athlete.
In the face of endless questioning, Ding Junhui has never responded positively before, and even avoided talking about such topics in some interviews. However, just recently, he responded to the public's long-standing questions for the first time in an interview. Ding Junhui did not shy away from the idea of gold mining, and bluntly admitted that he participated in business activities, and took endorsements purely for the purpose of making money. In addition, he said very bluntly, don't you go to work every day for money? If you tell me that your purpose in going to work is not to earn money, then I will not contradict you.
Ding Junhui admitted that his participation in these commercial event variety shows, as well as live streaming and endorsements, etc., were all carried out between training. He was doing these things when people saw him, but he was training when they didn't see him. If he had played the video of the training, Presumably no one would have said that he was looking for gold, but relaxed.
In addition, when it comes to questioning whether he will retire, Ding Junhui said that he has plans to play until the age of 45. He said that according to common sense, many people start practicing snooker from a young age until his current age, and it is time to retire, but he is different, he believes that he can play for a long time, at least until the age of 45. But did he do nothing during this time? So the topic was again led to the initial "gold mining" question. However, in the face of Ding Junhui's response, many netizens did not buy it, and even complained that his emotional intelligence was too low and his speech was too straightforward.
It is true that for players like Ding Junhui, it does not matter if some games with low gold content and low prize money do not participate, and it is understandable to use their popularity and commercial value to make money, but as an athlete, it is better not to forget their own work, put more time and energy on improving their skills, can get higher honors at the same time the commercial value will also increase, naturally will make more money. For fans, they also want to see him continue to compete on the field and rush towards the world championship.