Ding wins China Open

Ding Junhui raised the roof at Beijing’s Haidian Stadium and delighted an estimated television audience of 100 million by beating Stephen Hendry to win the China Open.

Only two days after celebrating his 18th birthday, Ding became the second youngest player to capture a world-ranking title - after Ronnie O’Sullivan - and the first wild-card entry ever to lift one of snooker’s major trophies with a stunning 9-5 victory over Hendry.

But Ding will not receive a penny for his triumph even though the event carried £30,000 for the champion.

Having withdrawn from the qualifying competition in January to accept wild-card status, he is entitled to nothing. Even so, Ding was overjoyed to record the most significant result for global development in the sport’s history.

“I didn’t feel under any pressure because I looked at it as a practice match to learn from Stephen,” said Ding.

“Winning this will give me a lot of confidence for next season and that’s just what I needed because I’ve lost so many matches lately I should have won.”