Ding delights home crowd
Hunter potted only one ball in the last four frames and did not score a point in the last three as Doherty racked up 331 points without reply to complete a devastating victory.
It puts the genial Dubliner through to his first semi-final since he lost to Hunter in the Players Championship in Glasgow 12 months ago.
“I’m delighted to win because Paul is the first top-eight player I’ve beaten in a long time,” Doherty said. “It’s a sign that my form is coming back slowly. That was a vast improvement on my previous two matches.”
Local hero Ding Jun Hui brought a crowd of more than 1,500 ecstatic supporters to their feet with another impressive victory.
Ding celebrated his 18th birthday by beating Hong Kong’s Marco Fu 5-2 at the Haidian Stadium in Beijing.
As the home favourite completed the 71 break which brought him victory and a place in the semi-finals the audience roared their approval with a standing ovation.
Ding, a wildcard for the tournament, beat Doherty 6-1 at the Rileys Club Masters in February before losing 6-2 to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals.
Scots Stephen Hendry and Alan McManus meet in the other semi-final, with £30,000 the prize for Sunday’s eventual winner.
Mark Allen completed a remarkable hat-trick of titles when he won a pulsating European Under 19 Championship in Russia, beating England’s Chris Norbury 6-5 in the final. With Allen already having secured his 2005-6 Main Tour place as IBSF Champion, Norbury now secures his place as runner-up.
