NewIt's in the pocket: Chinese ace on the path to world No. 1 ranking in snooker

Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui will become the first Asian player to top the snooker world ranking by the end of the week.

The Chinese ace will officially overtake Englishman Mark Selby as top of the ranking despite Ding's surprising third-round defeat in the Snooker UK Championship 2014 on Wednesday.

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the governing body of professional snooker, will officially recognise Ding’s position when it updates the official player rankings at the end of the championship on Sunday.

Ding, 27, rallied from a record-equalling five ranking titles last season and entered the Championship as world number two, and was on his way to the top spot after Selby’s early elimination last week.

But Ding stumbled on Wednesday when he suffered a shocking defeat to world number 100, James Cahill.

But it was the equally upsetting loss of defending champion Neil Robertson, another contender for the world number one spot, to Graeme Dott in the final 16 that sealed Ding's rise.