Ding Junhui has not lost in the final of the British Championship: his first three wins
Despite being chased by three match points in a row in a 5-0 win, Ding, who had five match points in hand, did not allow a major reversal to occur and eventually defeated Forde 6-3 to reach the final of the British Championship for the fourth time in his career and impact his fourth title in the Championship.
Ding had been favoured to win the match against Forde. Ding took the lead in the match, hitting three 50+ shots, and with Forde's poor touch, Ding won five games in a row and a big win looked within his grasp. But Forde didn't give up in the desperate situation, and then hit a 77 and three 64s in a row to recover three match points in a row, almost chasing four games in a row, before catching his opponent losing an over-under red ball in the ninth game and coming back to win, avoiding further pressure from his opponent.
Unbelievable, I've been playing well all week, today was a bit different, sometimes winning the match is the key anyway, I even thought it was going to be 4-5, I didn't think he would lose any balls, my opponent played very well in the later games, kept scoring, got his touch back, the match became harder, I tried to stay focused, just waiting for the next chance to get back on the tee. " Ding Junhui said after the match.
It would have been just that one overscore red ball away from chasing four match points in a row, but unfortunately Lady Luck was not on his side at that moment, "I was lucky and of course I had the confidence to win and focus and the feeling was enjoyable for me. The final is a different game and I think playing in the final three times before will help me, I know how to play in the final, Mark Allen is of course very good and hits the ball fast and attacks well."
Ding has won all three of his previous finals and if he can beat Mark Allen to the top for a fourth time, he will join O'Sullivan, Steven Davis and Hendry as the only four players to have won at least four British Championships and will also take his 15th individual ranking title, having last won the Championship in 2019.
"The last three seasons have been tough for me, please you were all waiting for me to win the title and I was thinking the same thing, now there is a great opportunity." A fourth British Championship title would see Ding return to the top 16 in the world rankings and catch the final train to next year's Masters.
Summary :
Despite being chased by three match points in a row in a 5-0 win, Ding, who had five match points in hand, did not allow a major reversal to occur and eventually defeated Forde 6-3 to reach the final of the British Championship for the fourth time in his career and impact his fourth title in the Championship.
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2023-03-22
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