20 Years On: The Day That Changed Snooker

How Ding Junhui's sensational 2005 China Open victory ignited a boom

For some reason, I remember the chef.

You don’t normally see one at a snooker press conference, but this chap appeared after every match, as fascinated as the assembled media by the huge story unfolding in front of them.

It was April 2005, 20 years ago, and Ding Junhui was changing the future direction of snooker.

Let’s consider the time. Snooker had enjoyed long and loyal support from tobacco companies but a change in societal attitudes to smoking led to the government outlawing sports sponsorship by cigarette firms. Most went in 2003, the World Championship was given an exemption until 2005.

This contributed to a black hole in snooker’s finances, but this wasn’t the only reason. These were febrile times. The BBC had stuck by the sport but ITV had walked away and Sky Sports had lost patience with those running the WPBSA in 2004, preferring to broadcast Barry Hearn’s Premier League rather than regular tournaments.

Years of rancorous internal politics with a seemingly endless round of AGM and EGM votes to remove and replace various board members had left snooker in a perilous state. That it had any profile was down to the players of the time, in particular Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens and Paul Hunter. All in their 20s, they were great talents but also all British, as were legends such as Stephen Hendry, Jimmy White and Steve Davis, who were all still high profile players.

Snooker was lacking proper global appeal. Eurosport had begun covering more tournaments but there weren’t many to show – just eight ranking events in the 2004/05 season.

One of them was the China Open, restored to the calendar having been dropped in 2002. Among the reasons for its return was the emergence of a teenage talent who had already made waves in the amateur scene.

Ding Junhui discovered snooker at ten. His father, recognising his ability, got him the best coaching available but China had yet to establish a top player.

Ding won the Asian under-21 title, the world under-21 championship and the Asian Championship at the age of 15. He turned professional a year later and moved to the UK, unable to speak English. He was isolated, with no other Chinese players on the circuit, and spent all of his time playing snooker.

The deal to stage the 2005 China Open was dependent on Ding’s participation, but with his lowly ranking he would have to qualify. To get around this, he was withdrawn from the event and then re-entered as a wildcard along with 15 other Chinese hopefuls, including a 16 year-old Xiao Guodong.

So to the Haidian Stadium, a vast facility in Beijing. Little did any of us know the significance of the week ahead.

In the wildcard round, Ding beat the experienced Mark Davis 5-2 before a match in the last 32 against Peter Ebdon, who had encouraged his development through long practise sessions in Wellingborough. The result was stunning. Ding won 5-0. One Chinese journalist was blunt in probing the 2002 Crucible king, asking him, ‘Ebdon, how come you won the World Championship?’

The result made national news. Ding was 17. China, like any country, prides youth in sport. He was a new face, a blank canvas, an obvious star in the making.

O’Sullivan had not travelled to Beijing, citing a bad back. Hunter had made the trip but felt unwell. It was at this time that he discovered the devastating news about his cancer diagnosis.

Ding soon became the focus. He beat Stuart Bingham in a decider to reach the quarter-finals and the media presence noticeably grew. It was at this point that sundry other people took an interest in Ding, including the venue’s chef, who for the rest of the week managed to appear on cue to watch the post-match press conferences.

It was Ding who was cooking up a storm. He played Marco Fu on April 1, his 18^th birthday. He was given jelly and ice-cream to enjoy, a sign of his still young years. He was a shy boy and in that sense no different to the great champions who had come before him. Davis and Hendry had been introverts. They were most at home at the table.

Ding beat Fu 5-2. By now the media conferences were becoming love-ins. Journalists were asking for autographs. They were besotted with the unassuming young man cutting a swathe through the snooker establishment.

He thrashed Ken Doherty 6-0 in the semi-finals and arrived in the final to face Hendry, at that point the GOAT. Even if the titles had dried up, Hendry’s competitive instincts had never left him.

Hendry led 4-1. In the sixth frame, he attempted a risky red, missed, and Ding took control, ending the first session level at 4-4 before pulling away at night to win 9-5, making a century in the concluding frame.

The crowd were jubilant but Ding if anything was disbelieving amid the swirl of cameras, interviews and general delirium. He actually went down in the rankings because he was not eligible for points as a wildcard and was not awarded any official prize money, but sponsors were soon queuing up to be associated with an overnight superstar.

Viewing figures on Chinese television were reported to be 110 million. Ding’s victory was a sensation in China and resonated way beyond.

A year later, myself and my colleague Phil Yates witnessed a fistfight between spectators in Beijing after the wrong table was announced for one of Ding’s matches, leading to a stampede to the right one and punches being thrown for the remaining seats.

By now, Ding was UK champion. More than that, he had lit the blue touchpaper on a revolution which helped turn around snooker’s fortunes.

The Shanghai Masters was added to the calendar in 2007 and when Hearn took over at World Snooker three years later he adeptly encouraged a bidding war between various Chinese promoters, leading to as many as five ranking events per season in China.

Huge investment into academies and playing facilities meant thousands of youngsters took up snooker, inspired by Ding’s success. It took a while but it has led to a steady stream of talent and several tournament winners.

There have been challenges too. Moving to the UK, away from state or parental supervision, some have found trouble. Ten received varying sentences as part of a match-fixing case in 2023. The Covid pandemic of 2020 led to several tournaments being cancelled. The circuit returned there in 2023 but the China Open has still not been played since 2019.

But the Chinese snooker boom has given the sport a genuine global dimension. The tournaments played there are prestigious and players are made a fuss of, with red carpet parades and hero worshipping fans.

And through it all, Ding has remained a top player, winning 15 ranking titles so far, including seven in China. The only surprise is that he has not won the World Championship. His sole appearance in the final came in 2016.

Whether he is ultimately successful at the Crucible remains to be seen, but Ding’s legacy in the sport reaches far beyond the titles he has won. He inspired a nation and ignited a boom which had positive effects for the game itself. His China Open victory 20 years ago today was as significant as Alex Higgins winning the 1972 World Championship, which helped spark the original snooker boom in the UK.

Ding Junhui hasn’t just played great snooker during his career, he helped save it from decline. The chef was right – he is something special.