Ding Junhui, also known by Enter the Dragon is one the most successful snooker players worldwide. He has won 14 major tournaments during his career, and has reached the final of two World Championships. In fact, he is considered to be the most successful Asian player in history.
The Chinese pro snooker player was introduced to the game at the age of eight by his father who was a snooker enthusiast. As a child, he was a member of the Shanghai national team in snooker and has been a great success back home.
In 2007, Ding became the youngest player in history to make a televised 147 break. Ding also won the IBSF World Under-21 Championship that year. He won his first professional title, and was ranked at the top of the world at number nine by the end 2006-07 season.
During his career, Ding has won a total of fourteen major ranking titles. He is also a past three-time UK Champion. Ding, who began his professional career as a player at the tender age of 16, has collected more than 500 century wins throughout his career. However, his absences in recent years have had a negative impact on his match sharpness. Ding is a popular Chinese social media user.
Ding reached the finals at the China Open at the age of 18 and became the first player outside Great Britain and Ireland ever to win a ranking championship. Ding also beat Marco Fu to win his first all-Asian final.
Ding, despite the success of his homeland, has not been in a position to keep his title as the top snooker player. His career has seen a decline over the past six year. He currently ranks 9th in the world. Since 2017, he has not been in a major ranking event.
But, the 34 year-old has a strong resume. He has won over $5 million in major tournaments. In the 2013-14 season, he won five ranking tournaments and reached the semifinals for the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix. However, he lost to Barry Hawkins (and Shaun Murphy) in the quarter-finals.
Ding has won ten matches in 2019 and compiles ten century wins. Moreover, Ding has reached the semifinals of the Ladbrokes Players Tour Championship. His return to the World Championship is anticipated in January.
He also beat the world's top 16 players. He defeated Joe Perry, Mark Williams, James Cahill, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. He also made seven centuries in semi-finals at the Shangai Masters.
He won the Chinese National Championship at 18 and became the youngest player ever to achieve six maximum break records. His ranking rose by seven spots, and he became the ninth-best player in snooker.
Before that, Ding remained in the top 16 of the rankings. Ding fell from the top 16 eventually. Throughout his career, Ding has been a fixture in the Asian snooker scene.