China News Service, March 24 (Xinhua) The final of the 2024 Snooker World Open ended on the 24th in Yushan, Jiangxi. Chinese player Ding Junhui lost to British star Judd Trump 4:10 and missed his 15th individual ranking title.
Image source: World Snooker Tour social media
Ding Junhui is no stranger to Yushan - at the 2017 Yushan World Open, he won the 13th ranking championship in his career. Returning to the blessed land this time, Ding Junhui, currently ranked ninth in the world, eliminated Grand Slam winner Sean Murphy, Iranian player Hussein Wafi and other players on the way to promotion.
In the semi-finals on the 23rd, after more than 4 hours of fierce battle, Ding Junhui finally defeated Australian star Neil Robertson 6:5. The latter has been called Ding Junhui's "nemesis" in recent years. During the game, Robertson took the lead in getting the match point, but Ding Junhui withstood the pressure at the critical moment and overcame this hurdle.
This is the second time Ding Junhui has advanced to the ranking finals this season after the British Championships. He had suffered a championship drought for more than four years before. Ding Junhui's opponent is Trump, who is in good form recently. This is the eighth time Trump has reached the final this season. He has won four championships before.
Image source: World Snooker Tour social media
The finals adopt a best-of-nineteen-game system. In the first stage, Trump once again showed his fiery touch and took a 3:0 lead at the beginning.
Ding Junhui scored 59 points on a single stroke in the fourth game to regain one victory, but Trump responded quickly and extended his lead to 7:1 after winning four consecutive games. In the ninth game, Ding Junhui hit his first single-stroke break of 100 in the finals, ending the first stage with a score of 2:7.
Entering the second stage, Trump hit a single shot to break 100 in the 10th and 12th inning, winning the match point at 9:3. Ding Junhui scored the key red ball in the 13th game and took advantage of the situation to regain the victory. However, due to being too far behind, Ding Junhui was unable to recover from the defeat and missed the championship.
Next, Ding Junhui will participate in the 2024 Snooker Tour Championship to be held in the UK from April 1st to 7th, and once again challenge for the championship. Only the top 12 players in a single season are eligible to participate in the event, and Ding Junhui is among them. (over)