Chris Wakelin availed of the so-called ‘Ding Curse’ on Thursday, beating Barry Hawkins 6-5 to reach the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters semi-finals.
Wakelin withstood a spirited fight back from his fellow Englishman to prevail in a deciding frame at the Green Halls in Jeddah.
Victory guarantees the 33 year-old a record payday of at least £100,000, eclipsing the £75,000 cheque he earned for reaching last term’s International Championship final.
While the former Shoot Out champion will rightly receive all the plaudits for getting the job done on the table, as he has been doing consistently over the last couple of years, there might have been a bizarre helping hand from afar as well.
That’s because the peculiar ‘Ding Curse’ reared its head yet again in a match on the main tour.
For the 22nd time in a row, the player who has beaten Ding Junhui in a tournament – on this occasion Hawkins – has been dumped out of the running in the very next round.
The phenomenon was experienced throughout the entirety of last season and, in fact, dates back to the 2024 Players Championship from the campaign before.
The Ding Junhui Curse
2024 Players Championship
Round 1: Ding Junhui 4-6 John Higgins
Next round: John Higgins 4-6 Zhang Anda
2024 World Masters of Snooker
Round 2: Ding Junhui 3-4 Ali Carter
Next round: Ali Carter 1-4 Luca Brecel
2024 World Open
Final: Ding Junhui 4-10 Judd Trump
Next match (Tour Championship): Judd Trump 4-10 Mark Williams
2024 Tour Championship
Quarter-final: Ding Junhui 8-10 Mark Allen
Next round: Mark Allen 5-10 Mark Williams
2024 World Championship
Round 1: Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
Next round: Jack Lisowski 11-13 Stuart Bingham
2024 Shanghai Masters
Quarter-final: Ding Junhui 3-6 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Next round: Ronnie O’Sullivan 3-10 Judd Trump
2024 Xi’an Grand Prix
Round 1: Ding Junhui 4-5 Alfie Burden
Next round: Alfie Burden 4-5 Xu Si
2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters
Last 32: Ding Junhui 4-5 Stuart Bingham
Next round: Stuart Bingham 2-6 Mark Williams
2024 British Open
Round 1: Ding Junhui 3-4 Aaron Hill
Next round: Aaron Hill 1-4 Mark Allen
2024 Wuhan Open
Last 16: Ding Junhui 3-5 Chris Wakelin
Next round: Chris Wakelin 4-5 Judd Trump
2024 Champion of Champions
Round 1: Ding Junhui 0-4 Judd Trump
Next round: Judd Trump 4-6 Neil Robertson
2024 UK Championship
Last 16: Ding Junhui 5-6 Shaun Murphy
Next round: Shaun Murphy 2-6 Barry Hawkins
2024 Scottish Open
Last 16: Ding Junhui 3-4 Luca Brecel
Next round: Luca Brecel 1-5 Xiao Guodong
2024 Snooker Championship
Quarter-final: Ding Junhui 0-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Next round: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-4 Mark Allen
2025 Masters
Quarter-final: Ding Junhui 3-6 Judd Trump
Next round: Judd Trump 3-6 Kyren Wilson
2025 World Open
Last 16: Ding Junhui 2-5 Shaun Murphy
Next round: Shaun Murphy 1-5 Joe O’Connor
2025 World Grand Prix
Last 32: Ding Junhui 3-4 Xu Si
Next round: Xu Si 3-4 Hossein Vafaei
2025 Players Championship
Last 16: Ding Junhui 2-6 Mark Williams
Next round: Mark Williams 3-6 Kyren Wilson
2025 Tour Championship
Semi-final: Ding Junhui 2-10 Mark Selby
Next round: Mark Selby 8-10 John Higgins
2025 World Snooker Championship
Round 2: Ding Junhui 4-13 Luca Brecel
Next round: Luca Brecel 8-13 Judd Trump
2025 Shanghai Masters
Quarter-final: Ding Junhui 1-6 Zhao Xintong
Next round: Zhao Xintong 5-10 Kyren Wilson
2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters
Last 16: Ding Junhui 5-6 Barry Hawkins
Next round: Barry Hawkins 5-6 Chris Wakelin
Wakelin, of course, won’t care about any of that as he extends his stay in the lucrative ranking event.
Following his excellent victory over world champion Zhao Xintong on Wednesday, he claimed that “even if I won this tournament, people wouldn’t think that I’m a top player.”
That could be put to the test in the next couple of days as he chases one of the sport’s biggest prizes.
Standing in Wakelin’s way of a final berth will be Ronnie O’Sullivan, who conjured a memorable comeback to deny Kyren Wilson in another deciding-frame thriller.
The Rocket trailed the recent Shanghai Masters champion 5-3 but reeled of a brace of century breaks to restore parity and duly took the 11th frame to complete the turnaround.
It’s the second time in as many days that he has retrieved a late deficit, and it’s another signal that O’Sullivan is feeling happier with his new cue.
“I was trying to stay with him because he will always be the stronger player these days,” O’Sullivan said afterward.
“That was my aim, to make him work hard. I felt okay all night but I am still not playing enough good shots consecutively.”
“I throw in some bad ones. I can use my experience, be patient, and make it hard for my opponent.”
O’Sullivan and Wakelin have faced off four times in the past with two victories apiece, although all of their matches have been played under short formats.
The other semi-final in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters incorporates a somewhat similar theme with one traditional marquee name up against a rising force.
Like Wakelin, Elliot Slessor safeguarded the richest windfall of his career so far courtesy of a 6-5 triumph over last year’s runner-up Mark Williams.
It was the fourth match on the trot in which Slessor survived a deciding frame, adding to his earlier escapes against Lan Yuhao, John Higgins, and Stuart Bingham.
Slessor, 31, has reached four ranking event semi-finals in the past but has never been able to go beyond this point in a competition.
Hoping to deny him on this occasion will be Neil Robertson, who was the only semi-finalist who didn’t need all eleven frames to beat his quarter-final opponent.
That’s not to say that it wasn’t close, though, with the Australian just about edging out Ali Carter with a 6-4 scoreline.
Robertson has encountered Slessor three times in the past, emerging as the winner on each occasion with two of those ending with bagel scorelines.
Both of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters semi-finals take place on Friday with the final scheduled for Saturday in the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Neil Robertson vs Elliot Slessor
Friday, 12pm UTC+1 (BST)
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Chris Wakelin
Friday, 6pm UTC+1 (BST)
Featured photos credit: WST
