- published: 19 Feb 2016
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Ding Junhui (Chinese: 丁俊晖; pinyin: Dīng Jùnhuī; born 1 April 1987 in Yixing, Jiangsu) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles, including being the first player from outside the British Isles to win the prestigious UK Championship. In the 2013/2014 snooker season he equalled Stephen Hendry's record of winning five ranking titles in the same season. As a prolific break-builder, Ding has compiled more than 390 century breaks during his career including five maximums, and is the only Asian player to have held the world number one position.
In December 2006, he enrolled at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Business Administration and Management. He is a resident of England during the snooker season. He is good friends with fellow countryman Liang Wenbo and they are training partners in the Sheffield World Snooker Academy.
Ding started playing snooker at the age of nine, when his father took him to the Chinese national team training centre near Shanghai. His father persuaded his mother to sell their house in order for Ding to continue playing snooker as a career.