China's Ding Junhui races into world snooker semi-finals – and Hong Kong’s Marco Fu is not far behind
No Asian player has ever won snooker’s most prestigious title but Ding wins in style and Fu is in control of his quarter-final
China’s Ding Junhui became the first player to reach the semi-finals of this year’s World Snooker Championship after thrashing Mark Williams 13-3 inside two sessions on Tuesday.
Williams, world champion in 2000 and 2003, was largely reduced to the role of a spectator, as Ding – who had to come through qualifying – made short work of seeing off the Welshman.
Mark didn’t have much luck, some bad kicks, so I got some easy shots and made breaks
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Marco Fu Ka-chun put himself in a great position to join Ding in the last four, taking a 7-1 lead against England’s Barry Hawkins at the end of their first session.
Ding scored at least a half-century in every frame he won as he increased his first-session lead from 6-2 to 10-2 at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in northern England.
Williams potted a mere two balls before the mid-session interval and, although he won the 13th frame, the two-time champion could not stop Ding’s march to victory.
“I played really well,” Ding told World Snooker. “From the first session I was winning 6-2 and I kept going and played well again.
“Mark didn’t have much luck, some bad kicks, so I got some easy shots and made breaks.