ding is really excited to be playing in the tournament, given its proximity to dongguan.d in the big, big, big tournament here in guangzhou. and i was living here, this area, for about seven years, and when i was like 12 or 13 years old, the snooker players all come here to play, because there are more tournaments here, before. so, i grew up here and i think it's a good time to go back. ding's first—round opponent is another famous asian player, hong kong's marco fu. yeah, it's a big event. you know, me and marco's always get the most people watching in on the television. it's our match in china. tonight, i'm playing against marco. i think he has got friends here from hong kong, it's not far away from here. i think it's, like, two hours driving. and i have a more friends here, so it's interesting. this security staff are waiting and ding's quickly escorted in. the practice room is where all the players head before a match. everyone is keen to get a glimpse of the chinese star. even his opponent is keeping close watch. after a brief practice session, he heads to a waiting

ding junhui is very excitedly playing in the tournament, given its proximity to dongguan. big tournament here in guangzhou. i have lived here for up about seven years. when i was 12 or 13 years old, snooker players all content to play. there were more tournament here. so i kroppy, and i think it is good to come back. ding junhui's first-round opponent is another famous player, hong kong's marco fu. it is a big event. me and marco fu have the most people watching on television. tonight, i played against marco fu, and he is a friend from hong kong, it is over away. about two hours driving. and i have a lot of friends here, so this is interesting. this security staff are waiting, and ding junhui is quickly escorted in. the practice room is where all the players had before a match. everyone is clean to get a look at the chinese star. even his opponent is keeping close watch. —— tim ryan is keen. after a brief practice session, he has to a waiting area. all players need to dress smartly, and ding is keen to look his best. —— everyone is keen to get a look at. circa is very popu

shortly after that his parents selling up their grocery business and house, moving from jiangsu to dongguanation at the age ofjust11, he practised for eight hours a day at a training hall. age of 15 he started winning national, regional snooker youth championships and then he fast became china's top player. the next decade was then is spent on the international circuit, where he slowly climbed the rankings. he won his first major final, the china open, with a 9—5 win over seven—time world champion stephen hendry. that was a big one. he was only 18 when that happened. that was back in 2005. and it was the same year he became uk champion for the first time with a 10—6 win over another goliath of the sport in steve davis. and he's really continued to win trophies from there. now, it's interesting to note that ronnie 0'sullivan, who he beat in the quarter—finals as you describe, he described ding as a special lad, a beautiful guy after that 13—7 frame loss to arguably snooker‘s biggest global icon. it seems that it kind of shows especially how highly regarded he is within the sport as well as o