On November 26, 2022, the Snooker German Masters continued, and the Chinese star lost to the Ding Junhui 24-5 lost to Matthew Stevens . The qualifying round was lost to the old opponent and was eliminated. The next stop was the Scottish Open. Ding Junhui played against Mark Joyce in the first round.
Ding Junhui ranked 19th in the world. He has won the ranking championship 14 times in his career, including three British Championships championships. It has long been the focus of attention of outside fans. In the previous British Championships, Ding Junhui lost to Mark Allen and won the runner-up, and his competitive state has rebounded. Although he is still a little worse than that of the peak period, it is certain that his strength exceeds that of some seed players.
opponent is 45-year-old Matthew Stevens, and his latest ranking is 49th. Matthew Stevens has performed very well in the three major competitions, winning the British Championship and Masters Championship, and losing to World Championship to Sean Murphy won the runner-up. Judging from his performance in recent years, it is not a big problem to ensure professional qualifications, but it is very difficult for him to win the ranking championship again, and it is a big gap from his peak.
The two met 11 times in their careers, Ding Junhui won 9 and lost 2, with an absolute advantage. The most recent time was the German Masters two years ago, when Ding Junhui eliminated Matthew Stevens 5-2, and won more easily. In addition, Chinese players have won the championship of the event twice, namely Ding Junhui defeated Trump 9-5, and Zhao Xintong Zhao Xintong swept Yan Bingtao 29-0, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao have advanced to the main competition.
qualifying round 5 wins in 9 games, Ding Junhui eliminated Jordan Brown 5-1 in the first round, Matthew Stevens defeated Hendry 5-0. Ding Junhui scored a single shot and scored 62 points to the top, and the two sides made mistakes in the second game. Matthew Stevens took action many times and won the battle 62-13. In the third game, Matthew Stevens scored 74 points in a single shot and won another game. Ding Junhui was very passive because he did not have a long stage.
In the fourth game, Ding Junhui failed to defend properly and missed the ball and sent the opportunity. Matthew Stevens scored 66 points in a single shot. Ding Junhui was overscored, but he did not give up. He tried to be a snooker and fought for it, but the opponent was still better. Judging from the performance in the first four games, the opponent's performance on the spot made Ding Junhui fall into a hard battle. The most important thing is that the success rate in the long stage is not high, so it is difficult to take the initiative.
Ding Junhui's condition rebounded next. In the fifth game, Matthew Stevens scored 57 points in a single shot, completing the super score with 73-11, winning four consecutive games to get the match point first. Ding Junhui regained the rhythm and scored 119 points, 72 points and 59 points in a single shot to tie the score. Matthew Stevens scored 44 points in the decisive game and interrupted the offense. Ding Junhui made a defensive mistake, Matthew Stevens scored a super score and narrowly won 5-4.
