China is one step closer to having its first snooker world champion after Ding Junhui dominated the opening session of his semi-final against veteran Alan McManus at The Crucible overnight.
Ding leads 6-2 ahead of tonight’s second session, having rocketed to an early 5-0 lead then surviving a brief McManus comeback to add another frame at the death. Victory would not only see him through to his first World Championships final but also secure his best result in any rankings event in more than two years.
There is still a chance that we could see a historic all-Asian final too, with Hong Kong’s Marco Fu trailing world number one Mark Selby 5-3. Ding and Fu were watched by an estimated audience of 100 million in China when they met in the final of the 2011 Masters and a repeat performance at the World Championships would just about send the country into meltdown.
It would also complete one of the great comebacks given Ding’s form struggles since winning five rankings events two seasons ago. Having only recently fallen outside the top 16 in the world rankings, he was forced to play three qualifying matches just to reach the main draw at The Crucible but has suddenly rediscover his mojo – storming through qualifying before scoring big wins over Martin Gould, Judd Trump and Mark Williams.
He has also thrown his support behind moving the World Championships from its traditional home in Sheffield to China in the coming years – a concept that will surely gain traction should he lift the trophy this weekend.
“It would be good if they took the World Championship to different places,” he told Eurosport. “I think in other sports they get the chance to host the biggest events in other places.
“The World Cup in football is in a different place every time, but of course there is a lot of history here so I understand it is quite hard. And I also know it is not my decision.
“But I wish China would get the chance to host it. I know the fans there would love to see the World Championship. It might be easier for me to win it then!”
