Ding Junhui captures 2009 UK Championship
Submitted by Billiard Pulse Blog
China’s Ding Junhui won the 2009 Pukka Pies UK Championship.
The final against Scotland’s John Higgins was a very tight affair, until Ding took it 10-8 after a 75 in the final frame.
Stephen Maguire (Scotland) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (England) lost out in the semifinals.
Ding received £100,000 for the victory and Higgins got £46,000 for his runner-up spot.
Stephen Lee had the highest break of the tournament with 141, which made him $5,000.
This was the second UK and fourth ranking title for Junhui. He’s previously won the 2005 China Open, the 2005 UK Championship, the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy. Higgins was looking for his third UK title and 21st win in ranking events.
In his four wins Ding has defeated the four greatest players of the last 30 years; Stephen Hendry (Scotland), Steve Davis (England), O’Sullivan and now Higgins.
Murphy moves from ninth to sixth in the provisional rankings. The top two remain the same. Higgins stays on top, followed by O’Sullivan. Neil Robertson (Australia) sits in third.
The event took place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England 5-13 December, 2009. It was the third ranking tournament of six on the 2009/2010 Main Tour. Next up on the snooker calendar is the Masters which starts 10 January 2010.
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