By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-04 10:43

Tons of confidence and a check worth $104,050 from his performance at the Snooker Premier League should help Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui overcome his title jinx and soar to new heights in his already fabulous career.

World No 9 Ding, who hadn't advanced past the quarterfinals in the 2007-08 season, defied the odds to beat three former top-ranked players - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis - before losing to John Higgins in the semifinals.

But his victories at the Premier League gave Ding a much-needed boost going into his favorite snooker tournament, the United Kingdom Championships, which begins on Saturday.

"I hope the Premier League could be my turning point this season," Ding told sohu.com. "I didn't play very solid this season as I felt quite down sometimes, so the victory here is what I needed. I think I am getting back my best play day by day.

"The UK Championships is a real challenge for me." Ding Junhui

The 20-year-old wunderkind was the youngest player ever to win three ranking titles - the China Open and UK Championships in 2005 and the Northern Ireland Trophy in 2006 - and the only player other than John Higgins to do so before his 20th birthday. But he fell under criticism for his inconsistent form, losing in the second round of the Shanghai Masters and the Royal London Watches Grand Prix.

But his sparkling play over the past two weeks has reignited the hopes of his fans.

Ding racked up 495 unanswered points in his 6-0 win over Hendry, just beating the previous record of 494 unanswered set by Higgins in the 2005 Grand Prix final against O'Sullivan. And his 13-time century play is the tournament's new record.

Ding, the fifth-ranked athlete on the Forbes 2007 Chinese Celebrity Rich List after Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, will happily add the prize money to his bank account, but Ding's not just in it for the money.

"I want to get better in every match that I play," he said. "I am surprised to know I've won so much money, but this is not my motivation for playing here in the Premier League.

"I felt under a lot of pressure ahead of this season because people always want me to win all the matches, but all the players on the tour are so tough.

"Then I am kind of relaxed after winning some matches against top players, I feel so refreshed and I am confident about the matches ahead of me."

Ding fell in the quarterfinals of the UK Championships against his practice partner Peter Ebdon, as he reportedly suffered from fatigue after the Asian Games in Qatar, where he grabbed a total of three gold medals for individual, doubles and team disciplines.

Ding's sensational style has won him high praise from opponents.

"If he carries on improving and gets a few more bits to his game, he will be a multiple World Champion," O'Sullivan said. "Tennis has Federer, golf has Tiger Woods, Ding could do the same to snooker."

In addition to his own success, Ding has also led the way for the rest of China's cue players as another five Chinese are competing on the tour this season.

Liu Song, the 23-year-old from Tianjin, has climbed to 54th on the world rankings after making it into the Royal London Watches Grand Prix semifinals. Tian Pengfei (No 77), Xiao Guodong (No 82) and Liu Chuang (No 96) have also emerged from China to play against the world's best players, and they continue to improve.

"With the success of Ding, Chinese players will be a force in the world," said Zhang Xiaoning, director of the Multi-ball Games Administrative Center, the governing body of the sport in China. "Playing against the big names helps them know where they are going to go and how good they can be. They are on their way to becoming professionals."