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| Ding Junhui in a game |
Newly-crowned UK champion Ding Junhui has the potential to become the sport's youngest-ever world champion.
That's theverdictof Steve Davis, the six-time world champion, who was beaten 10-6 by the Chinese teenager in the final of the UK Championship in York at the weekend.
Stephen Hendry was 21 when he won his first world title, but Davis said the 18-year-old Ding could beat the record.
"He's certainly on course to become a world champion and he's got a realistic chance of being the youngest ever," Davis told reporter.
"I think he's the first young player since Ronnie O'Sullivan to really look like he could take the game by storm."
Winning the UK title, the sport's second-biggest tournament, moved Ding up to 31 in the world rankings, and Davis said it was only a matter of time before he joined the sport'selite.
"I'm pretty certain he'll be a top-eight player fairly soon," said Davis. "There are loads of people who canpotballs but his level of maturity marks him out as something special."
But Davis warned against Ding being hailed too quickly as the saviour of a sport which has been hit by the banning of tobacco sponsorship and has led to a cut in the number of tournaments.
Ding has been targeted as the star who can sell the sport to China's 1.3 billion population and rapidly-expanding economy.
Davis says it will take time.
"We've been trying for ages to expand the sport and while it may be popular in China, there's still no real money being thrown at the game there from a sponsorship point of view," said the 48-year-old.
"I'm sure you'll get a slow trickle of great players from China who will come over to play in the UK.
"But I don't think we should be jumping up and down and saying the game is going to explode in the Far East because I don't think it will. If they ever put some money into it then perhaps we can say it's been a success story."
World Snooker, the sport's governing body, says that approximately 50 million of China's huge population play snooker, with 300 public venues with snooker tables in Beijing alone.
There are currently three Chinese players on snooker's professional tour: Ding, Liang Wenbo (world No 84) and Jin Long (100).
(Agencies)
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Updated: 2005-12-21 16:25
