Ding shows class to end his 10-year wait for a third UK Championship
Taking aim: Ding Junhui en route to his title victory
DING Junhui clinched his third Betway UK Championship crown last night by triumphing 10-6 over Stephen Maguire at York Barbican.
The Chinese ace, who last won the tournament a decade ago, stormed into a 4-0 lead in the afternoon session before Maguire — who beat Antrim’s Mark Allen 6-0 in the semi-final and won the event in 2004 — claimed three frames on the bounce.
Ding took the final frame of the session to lead 5-3 at the interval and picked up where he left off last night.
He worked his way into an 8-6 advantage and went on to round out the victory.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will host a ranking event for the first time next year after signing a 10year deal with World Snooker.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will be held in Riyadh from October 4-10 with total prize money of £2.5million as part of the 2020/21 World Snooker Tour calendar.
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said: “This is a giant leap forward for our sport. We have enjoyed tremendous global expansion over the past decade, particularly in Asia and Europe and we are thrilled to stage a new and momentous tournament in the Middle East.”
The tournament will include all 128 Tour players and the world’s top 32 will enter at the third-round stage, with four local players competing in the first round.
Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority chairman Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud said: “This partnership adds further to our hosting of a diverse range of international sports in Saudi Arabia.
“Having held motorsport and boxing events in recent months, and with tennis and equestrian events to follow, we are thrilled to add the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, which will see worldclass snooker played in Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2020.”
Anthony Joshua regained his world boxing heavyweight titles with victory in his rematch with Andy Ruiz in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.
BALLYCLARE High School had it all to do to book their place in the last 16 of the Danske Bank Schools’ Cup and they did it in style.
The east Antrim boys only required a victory at Lurgan College to qualify but by a bonus point 24-0 margin they won the Section.
Playing into a strong wind in the first period they were restricted to a seven points interval lead by a determined effort from the home side.
“Lurgan had the territorial advantage and attempted to use the wind without much success but were effective down the blindside,” said Ballyclare coach Mike McKeever.
“Our full-back, Mark Jackson, eventually broke through from the 10-metre line and added the points but it was only after the restart that we put our act together.”
Following a series of inter-play Jackson crossed in the left hand corner after seven minutes. Second row forward Harry McBride then took a hard line from scrum-half Matthew Spence and crashed over for a 17-point lead.
Still needing another try for the bonus, the best of the morning followed when Alex Darrah gained possession around halfway and weaved through the tiring opposition to go under the posts and then convert.
“We had to win this game so that made us focus on the task. I was especially pleased with our replacements who probably strengthened our efforts,” added McKeever, who had a great day all-round as his Ballyclare club team also picked up their first win for three weeks.
“Man of the match was our captain and No 8 Jack Gamble who was a true role model and superb in the loose and in defence,” added the coach
Ballyclare are joined in the last 16 by Friends’ School, Bangor Grammar, Sullivan Upper, Coleraine Grammar and Enniskillen Royal, the other divisional winners, while Belfast Royal Academy, Down High, Cambridge House and Grosvenor Grammar were the best runners-up.