Ding Junhui falls behind Mark Selby in gruelling World Snooker Championships final
Chinese player’s bid to become the first Asian to win the world title is on a knife-edge as he trails former champion Mark Selby 10-7 in the best-of-35 frame match
Ding Junhui’s bid to become the first Asian to win the world title was on a knife-edge Sunday when he trailed former champion Mark Selby 10-7 in the best-of-35 frame championship match.
There were two warriors out there today, when you require one or two snookers you’ve got to go for them, such is the standard of safety play, it’s astonishing
The opening day of the two-day final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre saw 29-year-old Ding slip 6-0 down at one stage before he pulled back to 8-7 courtesy of a marathon 66-minute 15th frame.
But that gruelling duel only served to inspire 2014 champion Selby who won the next two frames to restore the Leicester player’s dominance and put himself in a position to lift the world title on Monday, the same day that his hometown football team could be crowned Premier League champions.
“There were two warriors out there today, when you require one or two snookers you’ve got to go for them, such is the standard of safety play, it’s astonishing. Ding looked as fresh as anything,” former six-time world champion Steve Davis told the BBC.
Ding had fallen 6-2 down in the first session but never gave up hope, no doubt inspired by memories of Dennis Taylor famously winning the world title in 1985 from 8-0 behind against Steve Davis, while Ronnie O’Sullivan trailed Graeme Dott 5-0 in 2004 before winning 18-8.
For Ding’s many millions of supporters watching at home late at night in China, there must have been a feeling of letdown as their idol struggled so badly at the start.
Selby swept 4-0 in front at the mid-session interval with breaks of 91, 76 and 120.