Ding Junhui's season review: One round in four years, bad luck, H 147 is good enough to enter the finals twice!
April 25, 2024, this date is destined to be remembered by Ding Junhui. The first brother of Chinese snooker once again suffered a round of defeat at the World Championships. For four consecutive years, Ding Junhui was eliminated in the first round of the World Championships. Just like what he said on social platforms, "I'm sorry, let everyone wait another year!" This short sentence reveals how much sadness and helplessness. used to be a snooker genius, but now he can only silently accept reality. This may have been because he was beaten by two outrageous long shots from the young driver in the tiebreaker.
If Ding Junhui's performance is not as expected, then internal and external reasons may be the key. The intrinsic reason may have something to do with his age of 37. As he gets older, his energy begins to decline, which affects his long-range accuracy. Playing a long game requires a lot of concentration and patience, and maybe he's struggling a little bit right now. And the external reasons are even more helpless. In the past three years, Ding Junhui's signing can be said to be "stable and bad". In the 21-22 season, he entered the main match from the qualifying round, but he drew the most feared brother. In the next two years, as a seeded player, he won the top Thanos in the qualifying tournament in a row.
Having said that, Ding Junhui actually has a lot of highlight moments this season. Not to mention the World Championships, his performance in other competitions is quite good. For example, the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters, the round of 16 of the British Open, and the quarterfinals of the English Open. That's not all, he reached the finals of both the British Championships and the Jade Mountain Championships, becoming the runner-up. Doesn't these results show that he is still the powerful Ding Junhui, not to mention scoring 147 points in the Masters. What a dazzling moment, but at the crucial World Championships, he always had bad luck, which has to be sighed.
After losing to the little driver, he updated a status: "Sorry, let everyone wait another year!" For a snooker player who once had high hopes, such a result was difficult for him to accept. He has been on a tour for four consecutive years, can you imagine this kind of feeling? When Chinese snooker was caught up in the match-fixing scandal, he was the first to stand up. But now, his efforts seem to be drowned out by calls for retirement.
When it comes to Chinese snooker, Ding Junhui has always been a name that cannot be bypassed. Even when Chinese snooker suffered a match-fixing scandal, Ding Junhui was the first person to stand up. You'll find that he's always been very gentle with the media, fans and other players. Everyone said that he represented a positive image of Chinese snooker. If you were him, would you feel that the entire snooker world was staring at you, waiting for you to make some earth-shattering moves? Under such a difficult situation for Chinese snooker, it is already remarkable that Ding Junhui can withstand the pressure and continue to play.
Every year at the World Championships, everyone hopes that he can go further. However, he has been in the first round for four consecutive years, and the blow is not small. Like he himself said, maybe he will come back next year, but he has made everyone wait too long. This seemingly simple sentence carries a lot of helplessness and sadness behind it.
Despite the average results in the World Championships, Ding Junhui's performance in other competitions is indeed eye-catching. The runner-up in the British Championships and the Jade Mountain Championship was the highlight of his second consecutive season. He also scored 147 points at the Masters, and perhaps it was because of these impressive performances that everyone expected more from him at the World Championships. But the reality is that there is always a winner and a loser. Do you think that maybe we expect a little too much from him?
Even after performing well in other competitions, there are still calls for retirement from the outside world. This may be an inexplicable pressure on Ding Junhui. Imagine you've just had a good result at the British Championships and then you've reached the final at the Jade Mountain, and then everyone is starting to talk about whether you should retire or not. I guess it's a complicated feeling. Obviously, you are still working hard, why does the outside world always use retirement to put pressure on you? Moreover, Ding Junhui is 37 years old this year and is still in the prime of his career. These calls for retirement may not only affect him, but also make his fans feel confused.
Do you remember Thailand's six-red ball victory? The Yushan match against Robertson is also his classic. These results show that he has not regressed, his strength is still there, but he is a little unlucky. But these highlight moments can't hide the embarrassment of the first round of the World Championships. It is not easy for a veteran like Ding Junhui to persist until now, but are these highlight moments enough to support him to continue playing? This is the crux of the matter.
Expressions on social media seem simple, but in fact, there are words in them. Ding Junhui sent a sentence after losing to the little driver, "Sorry, let everyone wait for another year!" This sentence reveals helplessness and unwillingness, Ding Junhui is a representative of Chinese snooker, and he can still send a sentence so lightly after losing, which shows that he has too many things in his heart and can't spit it out casually. This expression may seem casual, but it actually reflects the true emotions in his heart. Some people say that he has a big heart, but a big heart also has times when it is fragile. The first round of the World Championships, this matter is uncomfortable for anyone.
How many points would you give to Ding Junhui? The full score is 10 points, some people give him a high score because he did well in other competitions, and some people give him a low score because the results of the World Championships are too disappointing. The first round of the World Championships, but he hit 147 and reached two finals, such a result is not bad in the snooker world, right? Everyone is a crowd of onlookers, and the time is always according to their own preferences, and no one can say for sure. How would you rate Ding Junhui?