Ding Junhui opened up his campaign this afternoon at the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix facing world No.27 Ben Woolaston. The first few frames were scrappy but overall Ben looked liked he had the edge over Ding.
The first frame was poor standard, with both players missing easy balls and lasted for an hour. In the next couple of frames Ben found some form and appeared to dominate the match. Ding managed to get himself back into the match to level at 3-3
The match came down to a deciding frame where Ding had first blood in amongst the balls. Ben then potted a super red, followed by a unbelievable black to the middle pocket. Ben then cleared up to the green and missed an easy brown to finish the clearance to win by a single point. Ding potted the brown leaving Ben needing snookers which Ben couldn’t achieve. A disappointed Ben conceded the match after Ding potted the blue.
Ding will no doubt be disappointed with his performance this afternoon but crucially for him, he still has a chance to get automatic qualification for the world championships.