Before you know it, there are only about 10 days left before the 2024 Snooker Shanghai Masters kicks off. The Masters is the first tournament in China in the 2024-25 season.
In the 24-16 rounds, a total of 5 Chinese players participated. In the 16-8 rounds, Ding Junhui will make his official debut, and his opponent is the winner of Ali Carter and the wild card players.
The Masters held in Shanghai was as hot as ever, and tickets were rushed out as soon as they went on sale. Although snooker originated in the United Kingdom, it has become increasingly popular in the country in recent years.
As the first person in Chinese snooker, Ding Junhui's contribution to the development of China's snooker industry is obvious to all. There are a lot of people, and it is also because they met Ding Junhui first that they began to learn about the event of snooker. With only one World Championship champion missing, Ding Junhui can achieve the Snooker Grand Slam.
This is also the main reason why he is still active in the snooker arena at the age of 37. Perhaps, many fans will question that the 49-year-old O'Sullivan is still the leader of the snooker arena, so why can't Ding Junhui?
The fact is that it's not that Ding Junhui can't do it. It's just that, judging from the past few seasons, Ding Junhui's overall state has been declining. Since stepping into the professional arena, slow heating and large ups and downs in state have also plagued Ding Junhui. Therefore, although in many sub-competitions, Ding Junhui can have a good performance. But every time he came to the World Championships, Ding Junhui's performance was unsatisfactory.
On the other hand, relying on the event of snooker, Ding Junhui has already achieved financial freedom. He is the highest-paid off-field of all professional snooker players. Because Ding Junhui is backed by a huge domestic fan market, Ding Junhui's annual income exceeds 10 million yuan for advertising endorsements alone. In other words, even if he no longer competes in the professional arena, Ding Junhui can live a very rich life.
It is worth mentioning that Ding Junhui owns a mansion in Sheffield, England, which is located in a wealthy area. Ding Junhui lives in the UK most of the year, because quite a few snooker events are held in the UK. It's just that as soon as the game ends, Ding Junhui will leave for China non-stop. Because his wife and two children live in Beijing.
It is said that behind every successful man, there is a woman who pays silently. It is true that standing behind Ding Junhui has always been her wife Zhang Yuanyuan. With a prominent family background, she gave up her career for Ding Junhui. She dedicates all her time and energy to her family, and now at the age of 43, although she is no longer young, her figure is still proud, and her temperament is becoming more mature.
The next Shanghai Masters will be Ding Junhui's first tournament in the 2024-25 season. After the Masters, the next tournament will be held in Xi'an in mid-August. In these two games, Ding Junhui is playing at home, let's wait and see what kind of performance he can play!