Ding Junhui saved the sport of snooker from a certain perspective.

Snooker originated in the British Isles, and its main market is also in the United Kingdom. At most, it has some mass base in the countries of the Commonwealth. The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were the golden years of snooker. Firstly, due to the popularity of live television broadcasts, and secondly, the large amount of sponsorship from tobacco sponsors, this gentlemen's sport developed rapidly. However, with the European Union banning the sponsorship of tobacco advertising in the sports industry, snooker has encountered unprecedented challenges. Tournament prize money is down across the board. In its heyday, a perfect score of 147 could get a prize of nearly 150,000 pounds at most. However, in some low-level events in recent years, the prize money for a perfect score of 147 is a pitiful 500 pounds. O'Sullivan once deliberately gave up the perfect score because the bonus was too low. In 2005, at the China Open in Beijing, Ding Junhui, who had just turned eighteen, held a wild card and went all the way. He defeated the billiards emperor Hendry in the final and won the championship. I asked Ding Junhui during the interview why he chose to take a wild card to participate in the competition instead of playing in the qualifying rounds. Ding Junhui said that the competition system at that time required three rounds of qualifying rounds to qualify for the main draw, which was very laborious. So I chose the wild card, but the price of the wild card is that there are no points and bonuses. From this moment on, snooker caused a "Ding Junhui whirlwind" in China. More children chose snooker, more events began to be held in China, and more snooker games were broadcast live on CCTV . So far, all the top 16 snooker players have Chinese sponsors. The chests of these athletes are all decorated with Chinese brand trademarks. All of this was brought about by Ding Junhui. Therefore, Ding Junhui’s contribution to snooker lies not only in his personal achievements, but also in his efforts to open up a market with a population of 1.3 billion, popularize snooker in China and awaken the already endangered sport. mission of the movement. In 2016, Ding Junhui won the runner-up at the World Championships. This year's Champion of Champions Invitational Tournament invited Ding Junhui in advance to participate in this competition that only ranking champions can participate in. Mark Allen expressed his dissatisfaction to the media at the time. He said that Ding Junhui was not qualified to participate in the competition. There were so many runners-up in the ranking competition, so why only Ding Junhui was invited? I asked Ding Junhui this question during the interview, and he said that he didn't mind Mark Allen's expression because many foreign players are relatively simple. But Xiao Ding also admitted that due to his special status, he more or less enjoyed a little preferential treatment. A little bit. Ding Junhui has won 13 ranking championships, ranking first among players born in the 1980s. He only lacks one World Championship championship. Ding Junhui, who has just turned 30, is in his golden age. I believe that he will definitely create better results. His status in snooker will not only create the market, but also create his own era.