:00:00. > :00:00.Ding Junhui is a superstar in China. In this document tree, we follow him
:00:00. > :00:00.with behind-the-scenes access as he plays in one job at the China
:00:00. > :00:27.Championship. -- Guangzhou. If you want to know what it is like
:00:28. > :00:31.to be a sporting icon in a country with more than 1 billion people,
:00:32. > :00:35.Ding Junhui can tell you. There is the sense of national pride when you
:00:36. > :00:40.win a major tournament. There is the media attention. Enron was to speak
:00:41. > :00:45.to you. A vast television audience watches every match to play. You get
:00:46. > :00:50.invited to glamorous events. -- everybody wants to speak you. Your
:00:51. > :00:56.adoring friends are delighted to meet you. Social media needs to be
:00:57. > :00:59.kept updated with nearly 5 million people following you. There is also
:01:00. > :01:05.the knowledge that your success has helped spark a snooker revolution in
:01:06. > :01:11.China. The next generation of stars has been inspired by you. And a new
:01:12. > :01:28.type of snooker luxury club is starting to open. It is the night
:01:29. > :01:30.before the start of the China Championship. The world's top
:01:31. > :01:35.players and officials are gathering in the lobby of their hotel. They
:01:36. > :01:39.are waiting for the bus to take them to the opening ceremony. The first
:01:40. > :01:43.of staging of this tournament has caused great interest here, as only
:01:44. > :01:48.the winner of the World Championship will receive more this season. It
:01:49. > :01:56.doesn't take long before Ding Junhui is recognised. The bus journey gives
:01:57. > :02:00.the players a jazz to catch up. Snooker has been a popular sport in
:02:01. > :02:10.China's third biggest city for many years. -- a chance to catch up.
:02:11. > :02:15.Tonight's event takes us to the Guangzhou's tower. An opening
:02:16. > :02:25.ceremony will take place that tonight. -- there. This redcarpet
:02:26. > :02:29.event feels more like a movie premiere in Hollywood. Only in China
:02:30. > :02:35.to snooker players get treated like Fells does. Most of the fancier have
:02:36. > :02:43.only seen their stars on television, before, so keen to an autograph. --
:02:44. > :02:47.fans here. So, it is time to launch the new tournament. After the
:02:48. > :02:52.introductory speeches, the big moment arrives. With a ceremony
:02:53. > :02:57.over, Ding Junhui quickly because the centre of attention. Suddenly,
:02:58. > :03:04.it is a media scrum. In Asia, and no other snooker player receives this
:03:05. > :03:11.level of attention. -- in Asia, no other snooker. The Ding Junhui story
:03:12. > :03:21.begins on the first of April, 1987. I was born in China, and grew up in
:03:22. > :03:28.a city and started to play some pool. I was eight years old. He went
:03:29. > :03:35.to junior school here. The school is very proud of its famous former
:03:36. > :03:40.pupil. Snooker is popular with the children, and played in many schools
:03:41. > :03:44.in China. At the age of 12, Ding Junhui move to this city where many
:03:45. > :03:51.of China's top snooker players are based. My father owned a club when I
:03:52. > :03:56.started to play snooker. So after that, maybe one or two years, and
:03:57. > :04:08.then the club shut down, so with the money problems, we moved to Donguan,
:04:09. > :04:17.the second growing up place to improve my snooker. -- Dongguan.
:04:18. > :04:23.This is a big decision to move to keep going on with my career, my
:04:24. > :04:29.snooker career. My father was a big help, because at that age, my age is
:04:30. > :04:35.like paper. There is nothing on that. So he had to help me to think
:04:36. > :04:42.about the problems, the positions, every day he looked after me to make
:04:43. > :04:51.sure I played every shot with concentration, because kids always
:04:52. > :04:54.like to play fun. When Ding Junhui and his parents moved to the city,
:04:55. > :04:57.they did not have much money, and the help they received has always
:04:58. > :05:07.been really appreciated. People were very kind. We have enough money to
:05:08. > :05:14.live well, and there were a lot of people who helped us, it were to
:05:15. > :05:19.clubs, we did not need to pay. We don't have too pay a lot to live,
:05:20. > :05:24.those things. It is time to make the short journey to the venue, where
:05:25. > :05:28.the China Championship is being said. Ding Junhui is very excitedly
:05:29. > :05:35.playing in the tournament, given its proximity to Dongguan. This is the
:05:36. > :05:38.first time that I have played a big tournament here in Guangzhou. I have
:05:39. > :05:43.lived here for up about seven years. When I was 12 or 13 years old,
:05:44. > :05:48.snooker players all content to play. There were more tournament here. So
:05:49. > :05:55.I Kroppy, and I think it is good to come back. Ding Junhui's first-round
:05:56. > :06:03.opponent is another famous player, Hong Kong's Marco Fu. It is a big
:06:04. > :06:10.event. Me and Marco Fu have the most people watching on television.
:06:11. > :06:14.Tonight, I played against Marco Fu, and he is a friend from Hong Kong,
:06:15. > :06:21.it is over away. About two hours driving. And I have a lot of friends
:06:22. > :06:25.here, so this is interesting. This security staff are waiting, and Ding
:06:26. > :06:30.Junhui is quickly escorted in. The practice room is where all the
:06:31. > :06:35.players had before a match. Everyone is clean to get a look at the
:06:36. > :06:41.Chinese star. Even his opponent is keeping close watch. -- Tim Ryan is
:06:42. > :06:55.keen. After a brief practice session, he has to a waiting area.
:06:56. > :07:09.All players need to dress smartly, and Ding is keen to look his best.
:07:10. > :07:13.-- Everyone is keen to get a look at. Circa is very popular on
:07:14. > :07:17.television in China, where it is shown by the national state
:07:18. > :07:24.broadcaster. 210 million people watch the 2016 World Championship on
:07:25. > :07:33.CCTV five. He is so popular and famous, so everybody wanted to win.
:07:34. > :07:41.So that is something very heavy on his shoulders. -- wants him to win.
:07:42. > :07:47.But generally, I think Ding can deal with this. Ding tries not to put
:07:48. > :07:52.more pressure on himself by thinking about the people watching on
:07:53. > :07:57.television. There are a few thousand people in my area, so that is why I
:07:58. > :08:02.don't think about how many people are watching. The hardest part is
:08:03. > :08:11.after the match. Winning is OK, but lose... It is harder to learn how to
:08:12. > :08:22.make it well. In Europe, snooker balls might -- snooker's most
:08:23. > :08:28.popular star, Ronnie O'Sullivan, knows the pressure. You need to
:08:29. > :08:31.embrace the expectation level. Either it sits comfortable with you
:08:32. > :08:36.wouldn't affect your performance. Either way, I think you need to be a
:08:37. > :08:38.strong character. You have to have big shoulders and be quite
:08:39. > :08:46.thick-skinned and not allow things to get to you. Ding's fans do not
:08:47. > :08:52.get to see him win. It is Marco Fu that progresses to the next round.
:08:53. > :08:57.Defeat can be to take. I am still learning. This is the hard part to
:08:58. > :09:01.learn. Because when you win, you forget everything, because only
:09:02. > :09:10.happiness with you. And when you lose, everything is bad. Bad tables,
:09:11. > :09:14.bad fans, bad balls. Nothing good. Sometimes, I cannot control the well
:09:15. > :09:21.myself after being beaten by somebody. But sometimes, it is OK.
:09:22. > :09:27.Every player has to speak to the media after a game, win or lose. In
:09:28. > :09:31.the past, Ding has found it hard to do with a defeat, but he has been
:09:32. > :09:36.working on this with a full World Champion, now a leading coach. Every
:09:37. > :09:40.player will go through it mentally. I will have been through it myself.
:09:41. > :09:45.One of the reasons I wanted to coach with the mental side is because I
:09:46. > :09:49.did not have a coach to talk to. So when they are down, I try to give a
:09:50. > :09:56.bit more in touch with them. He knows everybody who will lose will
:09:57. > :10:01.not be happy. He will talk to me the next day or a few days, all one I
:10:02. > :10:08.call him, so he knows... When I talk to him, he tells me the right things
:10:09. > :10:16.will happen, or something is ready happening, he will tell me how to
:10:17. > :10:22.accept that, and when you accept those things, you learn from that.
:10:23. > :10:25.-- or when I call him. With Ding, I think he is very willing to learn,
:10:26. > :10:29.both the technique and the mental side. Never happy with his game. He
:10:30. > :10:36.is like all the top players. They always pushing for more. -- and they
:10:37. > :10:48.are always. Ding's talent was obvious from a young age. He was
:10:49. > :10:53.invited to train at 15 age. The first time I came in, I was scared
:10:54. > :11:01.to leave home, a that far. Just myself. -- away that far. One a
:11:02. > :11:06.first aid here, I don't talk much. I don't talk much with keeping Gary, I
:11:07. > :11:11.don't talk much with anybody else. -- when I first stayed here. Only
:11:12. > :11:23.the way that I am going to say I am happy standing nearby the table. --
:11:24. > :11:28.Keith and Garry. Keith and Garry are happy with Ding. He came over to
:11:29. > :11:33.practise for about six weeks in 2002, and he beat Peter every day
:11:34. > :11:38.for six weeks. And then Peter went on to win the World Championships.
:11:39. > :11:46.The first time I practised with Ding, I find Keith and said he was
:11:47. > :11:50.very special. I asked where he came from. It was his maturity as much as
:11:51. > :11:55.anything, which really impressed me. And I was thinking I have never seen
:11:56. > :12:01.a 15-year-old like this before. In 2003, aged 16, Ding turn
:12:02. > :12:06.professional. He moved to England, where his new management team ran an
:12:07. > :12:11.academy. Those early years were not easy. It was tough. He could not do
:12:12. > :12:15.anything. Not to speak the language or Cork. He literally could not do
:12:16. > :12:20.anything for us. I can get everything done for him in China. I
:12:21. > :12:26.don't talk with my family as much. Every day at a play, practice after
:12:27. > :12:33.practice. I go home, stay by myself, just sitting like that, and thought,
:12:34. > :12:38.maybe one or two hours, just looking at the floors, the TV, and nothing
:12:39. > :12:47.to say. Just sitting down there and then it is like a dead man, you
:12:48. > :12:51.know? It is so boring, so boring. Ding is now one of the richest
:12:52. > :12:55.snooker players in the world. But back then, his focus was very
:12:56. > :13:00.simple. He had to keep his place on the main two and earn a living. I
:13:01. > :13:09.felt the pressure coming the first few years. To be probed. -- pro. I
:13:10. > :13:13.knew I needed to earn money to be living well, first. And also my
:13:14. > :13:20.family. I need to help my family, my father, my mum. I want them living
:13:21. > :13:24.well. So it is not about first round, second round, I want to win
:13:25. > :13:30.the tournament. And it is difficult. I know I need to work more harder
:13:31. > :13:38.and also I need to improve quick, because in that time, it is only one
:13:39. > :13:45.year, one year to stay in the tall. 96 players. -- tour. So I feel
:13:46. > :13:49.pressure. Ding's break three year was 2005. He beat Stephen Henry to
:13:50. > :13:53.win the China open in Beijing. There was also success in England when he
:13:54. > :13:57.won the UK Championship. You might recognise the play he beat. Victory
:13:58. > :14:07.at the 2011 Masters tournament in London was another career highlight.
:14:08. > :14:12.-- player. Only the top 16 players are invited to play. Two were from
:14:13. > :14:20.Asia for the first time. I played good. I played great to give Marco
:14:21. > :14:24.Fu lips as I gave him quite a lot of times. I know Marco Fu, heap plays
:14:25. > :14:28.very well. He's a top player to beat. I think for two Asians to get
:14:29. > :14:36.into the final means a lot to the fans back home. -- he plays. A lot
:14:37. > :14:40.of the fans really interested and chewed into watchers stayed up late
:14:41. > :14:47.to watch the whole match, and it was really good for snooker.
:14:48. > :14:54.Around 70 million people play cue sports in China each week, including
:14:55. > :14:58.eightball and nine ball and the best young players come to live in
:14:59. > :15:02.practice at the National Academy. Since 2005, did 's success in
:15:03. > :15:07.winning tournaments has inspired millions of Chinese children to play
:15:08. > :15:13.the game. Before, there were a lot of snooker fans, but it is not... It
:15:14. > :15:16.is nobody can win a tournament, so year by year the snooker fans are
:15:17. > :15:22.leaving that sport, and they are doing something else. And after
:15:23. > :15:28.2005, I win it, the TV shows, more snooker, the people are starting,
:15:29. > :15:34.bringing their skills back to the tables. They are starting to think,
:15:35. > :15:39.oh, this is a good sport to play. 30 pupils in a raging in age from six
:15:40. > :15:44.to 22 years old. They practise from Monday to Saturday each week from
:15:45. > :15:50.9am to 5:30 p.m.. Someday they can be a professional player, and even
:15:51. > :15:54.be as good as did. They know there are lots of efforts they have to
:15:55. > :15:58.pay, a lot of time and a lot of energy they have to pay, they have
:15:59. > :16:01.to prepare for that, that day. Every day begins with a warmup. The
:16:02. > :16:06.youngsters work with top-class coaches, cutting-edge computer
:16:07. > :16:12.technology is also used to help them improve. The food here is really
:16:13. > :16:17.good, too. Mobile phones are kept locked away until lunchtime, to make
:16:18. > :16:21.sure there are no distractions. Three players from this Academy have
:16:22. > :16:26.qualified for the main snooker tour since it opened in 2013, including
:16:27. > :16:52.these two young stars. They both idolise did.
:16:53. > :16:57.Did is pleased to see this new generation of Chinese players coming
:16:58. > :17:03.through, I'm happy to give them the benefit of his experience. I can
:17:04. > :17:08.show them, we can do it. You know, that Chinese players, Asian players,
:17:09. > :17:11.can win a tournament. The signs of success are already here when it
:17:12. > :17:16.comes to producing top-class players. In the next ten years,
:17:17. > :17:24.China could be the dominant snooker superpower. China has just invested
:17:25. > :17:28.heavily in player development, but also in the business of snooker. The
:17:29. > :17:32.country stages some of the most prestigious and lucrative
:17:33. > :17:35.tournaments in the world. I think it just shows the significant growth in
:17:36. > :17:40.snooker generally, and globally, particularly here in China, it is...
:17:41. > :17:43.You know, that growth has been consistent and our vents are getting
:17:44. > :17:47.bigger and bigger. Obviously delighted to see that happening. It
:17:48. > :17:50.is great for our players, they are playing for huge prize pools now.
:17:51. > :17:56.The one tournament China would love to stages the World Championship. It
:17:57. > :18:02.is being held in Sheffield since 1977, and the city has a deal to
:18:03. > :18:06.keep it there until 2027. But, in the future, could the tournament
:18:07. > :18:10.ever move abroad? You can never say never. Myself, I am passionate about
:18:11. > :18:17.staying in Sheffield, because that is what I remember, and the game
:18:18. > :18:22.starts. Realistically, can we say it is going to be there in 50 years
:18:23. > :18:27.time? I have no idea. But what we would say is it is a rather clever
:18:28. > :18:33.commercial twist to say no. Because the messages, you can't buy history,
:18:34. > :18:40.but you can create your own. So go and do it. And I think the Chinese
:18:41. > :18:44.are it. The snooker club I used a practice that has been in business
:18:45. > :18:47.for over 80 years. It is a popular place which anyone can afford to
:18:48. > :18:51.visit. But, if you want to see what the world's most exclusive billiards
:18:52. > :18:58.club looks like, you have to come here. The top level of membership is
:18:59. > :19:04.around 125,000 US dollars a year. There are seven expensively
:19:05. > :19:11.furnished VIP rooms for the members to use. It is certainly a luxurious
:19:12. > :19:17.way to relax. China's passion for snooker also extends abroad. Ding
:19:18. > :19:21.receives great support from the Chinese students studying in the UK,
:19:22. > :19:26.like these from Cardiff University. Even when he loses a match, like he
:19:27. > :19:34.did here, he will make time to meet his fans. I am so proud to be here,
:19:35. > :19:40.and I am so proud of... As I am a student, and I have a chance to come
:19:41. > :19:46.to hear, and I can be a part of this, to cheer him on. And yes, I am
:19:47. > :19:50.so excited. Another way Ding engages with his fans is through social
:19:51. > :19:57.media. He has nearly 5 million followers on the Chinese site Weibo.
:19:58. > :20:01.Sometimes I want to show when I do funny things. Some... You know, for
:20:02. > :20:05.the tournament, after the tournament, what I think, I can
:20:06. > :20:13.share the thinking with snooker fans. The dream of every snooker
:20:14. > :20:19.player is to win the World Championship. Sheffield's Crucible
:20:20. > :20:24.Theatre will always be a special place for me, as I won the trophy
:20:25. > :20:28.here six times. Sheffield is a city Ding knows well. He has lived here
:20:29. > :20:33.for the past ten years. It is very nice to be here, that is why I like
:20:34. > :20:37.to spend half the time in the UK, half the time in China. Sometimes I
:20:38. > :20:43.want to get back to normal life, and I can come here, to stay here, be a
:20:44. > :20:47.normal person. In China, it is impossible for him to walk down the
:20:48. > :20:52.street without being recognised, but here, it is a different story. Well,
:20:53. > :21:01.almost a different story. Hello. Best of luck. Thank you. In 2016,
:21:02. > :21:05.the Chinese start made history. He became the first player from Asia to
:21:06. > :21:13.play in the final of the World Championship. The final did not
:21:14. > :21:20.start well, though, and his opponent brought an early lead. It is quite a
:21:21. > :21:29.bad start. Big pressure. After 6-0, I started thinking maybe I lose the
:21:30. > :21:34.big score. It is like 18- two, or three, or something like that. Ding
:21:35. > :21:38.it wouldn't give up. He kept fighting, and started to play well.
:21:39. > :21:44.Unfortunately for him, Selby was too good and won his second title. Being
:21:45. > :21:48.a champion isn't just about talent and hard work. It is also about
:21:49. > :21:54.having the belief that you can be the best in the world. In the end,
:21:55. > :22:01.last match in the final is not about the pressure. It is nothing near
:22:02. > :22:09.that. It is only the faith that you can win. The finals, I learnt a lot.
:22:10. > :22:13.If you go to the last match stages, you have got to believe in yourself
:22:14. > :22:22.that you can win. That is all you need to do. Ding Junhui will be
:22:23. > :22:28.playing at the Crucible for many years to come. And certainly has the
:22:29. > :23:03.talent to become a multiple world champion.
:23:04. > :23:08.As April weekends go, I think we are in for a bit
:23:09. > :23:11.of a treat this weekend, because there is some strong
:23:12. > :23:16.sunshine to be had for large swathes of the UK on both days.