"Ding Junhui lies in the World Championships", this is the morning of March 31, Beijing time, after the fourth matchday of the snooker tour championship, some netizens with ridiculous comments. Ding Junhui did not compete on this day, but the suspense of whether he will be able to go straight to the Cruzburg Theater (home of the World Snooker Championship) has been revealed. Since Ding Junhui's main competitor Ryan Dai lost 7-10 to Mark Selby, Ding Junhui temporarily qualified as the 16th seed to directly participate in the upcoming World Championship main event as the No. 16 seed, becoming the only Chinese player among the seeded players of this World Championship.
In fact, the statement that "Ding Junhui can advance to the main stage of the World Championships by watching the game outside the field" has some truth, but it is not comprehensive. This time among the seeded players and directly shortlisted for the top 32 of the World Championships, it is indeed thanks to two people, one is the junior Pang Junxu, and the other is of course Selby who blocked Ryan Day. But Ding Junhui's own efforts are also the most important, and he won his chance by beating the in-form Mark Allen 10-5 in the first round of the Tour Championship.
Before participating in this tour championship, post-00s youngster Pang Junxu gave Ding Junhui the most crucial "assist", Pang Junxu defeated Gary Wilson in the semifinals of the last WST Classic, helping Ding Junhui to stay in the top eight in a single season and qualify for the tour tournament. If Ding Junhui can't participate in this tour tournament, there is no way to talk about hitting the top 16 world championship seeding spot. After defeating Mark Allen, Ding Junhui can only wait for the good news from Selby, as long as the "grinding king" plays normally and blocks Ryan Day, who is comparable in points with Ding Junhui, Ding Junhui can win the qualification for the main event of the World Championship.
Ryan Day shot his third career 147 against Selby, but his overall strength was slightly inferior to Selby, and Selby eventually won the match, indirectly helping Ding Junhui become a seeded World Championship player. This result is good news for Ding Junhui and the Chinese snooker army as a whole. Originally, in the top 16 of the world, there were two Chinese players, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, but due to the consecutive suspension scandals exposed in the second half of last year, the two Chinese players with the highest points were banned and lost the qualification for the 2023 World Championships, and there was no Chinese player in the seeded players. Now, thanks to his own efforts and other favorable results, Ding Junhui finally does not have to participate in the qualifying round, but can directly participate in the main tournament of the World Championships, which helps him break the slump since participating in the World Championships in recent years and can also inspire other Chinese players.
Of course, reaching the main draw of the World Championships is only the first step, and his current status is only the 16th seed in the World Championships. From the night of March 31 to the early morning of April 1, Beijing time, Ding Junhui will face Kyren Wilson in the semifinals of the Tour Championship, and if he can win, Ding Junhui can be promoted to the No. 14 seed in the World Championship, so that he can avoid the powerful "rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round. Although Ding Junhui kept a clean sheet against O'Sullivan at last year's British Championships, on the whole, Ding Junhui is absolutely inferior in the history of many years of playing against the "Rocket". Therefore, if you want to go further in the World Championships, you need to plan ahead, and Ding Junhui must act now to strive for every victory.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Liu Ailin
Editor/Zhang Yingchuan