Ding Junhui denied UK snooker title by Ronnie O’Sullivan – but earns another shot at him at the Masters

O’Sullivan becomes oldest UK champion, 30 years after he was its youngest winner aged 17, and says it’s ‘bonkers’ that the ‘class of ’92’ keep winning

US$127,000 prize money in York hands Ding a first-round Masters clash with the world No 1 in early January

Reading Time:2 minutes

Ronnie O’Sullivan (left) consoles Ding Junhui after beating him in the UK final in York. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:40am, 4 Dec 2023Updated: 5:15pm, 4 Dec 2023

China’s Ding Junhui came up just short against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of snooker’s UK Championship, but his runner-up cheque has earned him another crack at the world No 1 as soon as next month.

A 10-7 loss in York banked Ding £100,000 (US$127,000) in prize money, landing him in the world’s top 16 in time to qualify for the Masters – and a first-round encounter in London in early January with the seven-time world champion.

Ding, 36, who said he had “really taken the crowd here to heart”, has found the UK tournament a happy hunting ground since his breakthrough moment as an 18-year-old winner in 2005.

Further triumphs followed in 2009 and 2019, and when he pegged O’Sullivan back to 7-7 during the final’s second session late on Sunday, a fourth title looked feasible, only for O’Sullivan to pull away and collect £250,000 in winnings.

Ding Junhui is interviewed in the aftermath of his defeat at the York Barbican. Photo: AFP

“It was an honour to play Ding,” O’Sullivan, who turns 48 on Tuesday, told World Snooker Tour. “He’s such a classy player and such a classy guy. To share the table with him in that venue and in that final was an honour.