Ding downed by red-hot Hunter

Paul Hunter potted Ding Junhui all the way back to China tonight with a breathtaking exhibition in the Daily Record Players Championship.

The Wembley Masters champion left his 17-year-old opponent reeling, racing to a 5-0, second-round whitewash in only 58 minutes.

Teenager Ding scored just 20 points in the rout, including four from a foul.

And after clinching a last 16 meeting with veteran Steve Davis, Hunter admitted: “It’s too easy when you are playing like that.

“I cannot get any better than that so if I play half as well against Steve I will be happy.”

Hunter’s victory included a break of 144 in frame two – the second best of his career and the highest of the championship. It replaced Mark King’s 138 for a possible £5,000 break bonus.

Just for good measure the 25-year-old Leeds professional knocked in runs of 52, 66, 92 and 110.

“I didn’t expect anything like that,” said Hunter, who was under pressure after his early exit from the Irish Masters last night.

“I knew Ding was a good player because I’d seen him play at Wembley. But I never gave him a chance and I didn’t think I was going to miss.”

Hunter admitted he let himself down in Dublin by going out drinking the night before his defeat by Graeme Dott.

“It’s something I used to do four years ago,” he confessed. “You know what it’s like; you have a couple of drinks and then you want more.

“But it taught me a good lesson and I won’t be doing it again here.”

For Ding, tipped by Ronnie O’Sullivan to be a future world champion, it was a harsh lesson in what was his final game of his first professional season.

Hunter though will hope to reproduce the same form against Davis tomorrow.

“It’s going to be a totally different game because Steve is a master of everything,” said the world number seven

“But I’ve got loads of confidence from this match and I can’t wait to get out there again.”