Arena Spotlight | Ding Junhui tied the record, and O'Sullivan praised on the spot: The godfather of Chinese snooker
On December 4, 2023, Beijing time, the British Snooker Championship came to an end, and O'Sullivan defeated Ding Junhui 10-7 to win the British Championship for the 8th time and become the oldest British Championship champion. Although Ding Junhui missed the championship, he played ill, defeated many masters in a row, and dedicated a very wonderful game. In this British Championship, Ding Junhui scored a total of 13 strokes to break 100, tying Neil Robertson's record, and 13 strokes to break 100 is the highest record in a single British Championship.
The British Championships is Ding Junhui's favorite event, which can be called Ding Junhui's blessed land, so Ding Junhui competed with illness and defeated Mark Allen, Tom Forde, Mark Williams, and Trump in a row, and Ding Junhui won a special gold medal in the finals. Facing O'Sullivan in the final, Ding Junhui started 0-3, chased 4 draws after 1-4 behind, and chased 7 draws after 5-7 behind, which can be said to be quite tenacious.
However, Ding Junhui met O'Sullivan, who was in a stable state and made few mistakes, once he got started, O'Sullivan could basically achieve super scores, and there were many fewer low-level mistakes. After 7 draws, Ding Junhui lost three games in a row, and O'Sullivan scored 100 points, 74 points, and 129 points in a single stroke in a row, and won 3 games in a row with perfect performance, taking away the victory and championship 10-7. O'Sullivan was the youngest British Championship champion 30 years ago, and he became the oldest British Championship champion 30 years later, this is what perseverance means, and he once again proved that he is the greatest player in snooker.
Although Ding Junhui missed the championship, he reached the finals of the British Championships for two consecutive years, and he reached the finals from the qualifying round, and his performance was also very good. In this year's British Championships, from the qualifying round to the finals, Ding Junhui scored a total of 13 strokes to break 100, tying the record of the highest breaking 100 in the British Championship. We have seen Ding Junhui's state recover, we have seen him stubbornly catch up and enjoy the game, and we have seen Ding Junhui's determination to rebuild his glory.
There is no doubt that Ding Junhui is also quite outstanding, so O'Sullivan praised Ding Junhui on the spot, bluntly saying that he is the godfather of Chinese snooker and paved the way for later Chinese players. O'Sullivan also praised Ding Junhui as a very good person, and the modest O'Sullivan even said that it was an honor for him to compete with Ding Junhui. The result may be regrettable, but Ding Junhui's return to the top 16 and his place in the Masters Tournament again is a new journey for him.
When Chinese snooker was caught in the match-fixing scandal, we saw Zhang Anda win the first ranking tournament championship in his career, and saw Ding Junhui reach the finals of the three major tournaments again, although he did not break the championship drought in the ranking tournament, but such Ding Junhui won a lot of respect and applause, as long as he persists, it is a matter of time before he breaks the championship drought, and everything has just begun!