Ding Junhui

Date of Birth: 01 Apr 1987
Lives: Sheffield & Wuxi, Jiangsu Province
World Ranking: 5
Last Season in PLS: 7th
Best PLS Performance: Semi-Finalist -2007
Turned Pro: 2003
Ranking Tournament Victories: 4 – China Open 2005; UK Championship 2005, 2009; Northern Ireland Trophy 2006
Highest Tournament Break: 147 – Masters 2007, UK Championship 2008

A hot and cold season for the Chinese prodigy saw him make little impact in the Premier League, finishing rock bottom of the seven-man table.

In previous appearances, Ding has never seemed to settle into the format of the competition, but with a revised, quicker schedule of play, he will have every chance to improve on his previous best in the event.

Though Ding was not able to add to his tally of four ranking titles during the 2010/11 season, he did win snooker's most prestigious invitation event for the first time.

At the Ladbrokes Mobile Masters at Wembley Arena, he knocked out Mark Williams, Graeme Dott and Jamie Cope to set up a match with Marco Fu - the first ever all-Asian final in a major snooker tournament.

Ding performed brilliantly, making a century and seven more breaks over 60 in a 10-4 victory. "This has given me a lot of confidence for the next tournament," said the softly spoken Chinese ace.

Question marks remained over Ding's capacity to perform to his best at the Betfred.com World Championship, as he had never previously been beyond the last 16 at the Crucible. To a large extent he banished those doubt with a fine run to the semi-finals, highlighted by a 13-10 defeat of Mark Selby in the quarters. Ding looked favourite for the final when he led Judd Trump 15-14, only for the young Englishman to hit back to win a classic contest 17-15.

"I felt a bit nervous when it was 14-14," admitted Ding, who finished the season ranked third in the world. "I had chances but then he came back as he has so much confidence. This is my first time in the semi-final and I now have more experience for next year."

The previous season had seen Ding signal his return to form after a few trophy-less years. At the 2009 UK Championship in Telford, he knocked out Mike Dunn, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire to set up a final meeting with John Higgins.

A tightly-contested battle saw Ding play superbly in the closing stages to come from 7-6 down and win 10-8, showing his class and composure with a break of 75 which sealed victory. "I've had a long time without winning so I'm so happy, it's crazy," said Ding.

He als reached the finals of the Grand Prix and China Open, but lost to Neil Robertson and Mark Williams.

He is the youngest player ever to win three ranking titles, and the only one other than John Higgins to do so before his 20th birthday.

His first title came at the 2005 China Open when he delighted his fans in Beijing by coming from 4-1 down to beat Hendry 9-5 in the final. His second came later that year at the UK Championship - his first major title on British soil and one which demonstrated to BBC Sport viewers the extent of his talent. It was exuberant youth against experience and wisdom at the tournament's conclusion and he comfortably got the better of Steve Davis, 30 years his senior, 10-6.

His third came at the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast when he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-6.

Ding has become one of China's most famous sportsmen, and is at the spearhead of an emerging army of Chinese players making an impact on the professional Tour.

In 2006 he came back from the Asian Games in Qatar, clutching a haul of three gold medals for the individual, doubles and team disciplines.

He won the World under-21 Championship at the age of 15, beating David John 11-9 in the final in Latvia.

His hobbies away from snooker include swimming, badminton and watching Jackie Chan movies. He also enjoys football -and supports Manchester United.