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
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.
“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.