A snooker legend that has been performed for decades, in the corridor of time, several dazzling stars are intertwined with brilliance and dialectic.
From a radio, old snooker fans recall Steve Davis's "six crowns" heyday, middle-aged fans miss Stephen Hendry's nine-ball kingdom, and young fans are obsessed with Ronnie O'Sullivan's "rocket" speed.
However, when "Rocket" Ronnie put down the club, sat on the leather chair of the interview and said "Only Davis and Hendry can compare with me", Ding Junhui loomed on the road to the top, but is he really not qualified?
There was a little boy in London, his father wearing a huge gold watch in his hand, looking at the colored balls on the pool table and saying, "Ronnie, it's time for the snooker world to feel your speed." So Ronnie O'Sullivan, a 17-year-old teenager who won the British Championship, began a legend.
He doesn't just play with balls, he dances on the pool table, his cue is a baton, the colored ball is a musical note, and every stroke of the ball elicits bursts of applause from the audience. The young Ronnie was in a race against the clock, and he was the fastest man ever to score 147 points, 15 perfect scores, something no one else could achieve.
Times are changing, but the snooker smoke still fills these bars in the UK. People talk about the elegance of the "Emperor of Billiards" Hendry, whose fans are all over the world. As a young man, he roamed the pool table like a hero on the battlefield, and he was once the definition of the snooker world. Hendry was the handsome hero that snooker brought to the TV channel, and he conquered everyone of that era with his youthful smile and precise shots.
Back to reality, Davis once said: "Snooker needs new blood." However, there seems to be no trace of Ding Junhui in this blood. Ding Junhui, the "miracle" on the Chinese billiards table, the man who has the expectations of hundreds of millions of people. He has sweated on the stage covered with green velvet, and has also left an immortal light in the snooker sky. However, in the land of England, there was a cold flute sound, surrounding Ronnie O'Sullivan's assertion that he was "not qualified".
Snooker is a drama with mixed joy and sorrow, but this time the protagonists are not only O'Sullivan, Davis or Hendry, Ding Junhui is also trying his best to tear off the "inadequate" label that was attached. He is no longer just the king of football in Asia, he wants to write his own chapter in this country where British and snooker are closely bound.
Ronnie, who is rebellious and talented by nature, may have changed snooker with his speed and presence. Such an alternative football king, but told a seemingly cold truth: "Only Davis and Hendry can compare to me." "It's a tribute to history, but it's also a challenge to reality. He not only competes on the field, but also challenges tradition and rules in the snooker world.
Today, Ding Junhui is standing at the intersection, his backpack full of dreams that started with a small table. Every quiet practice, every event under the spotlight, is he answering Ronnie's challenge, and he is also making a promise to the young man's self.
The ultimate showdown is not only played out on the green pool table, but also in the fierce collision of public opinion and commentary. O'Sullivan's challenge may have a reason, but there are always new stars shining in the world of snooker. Whether Ding Junhui can break free from the label of "not qualified" depends on whether he can hit the ball perfectly in future games and win more applause and glory. Which golfer is the true representative of the times, I think, time and that green plush will give us the answer.