Snooker: Ding the king in all-Chinese final

Ding Junhui saw off Xiao Guodong 10-6 yesterday to win the Shanghai Masters in snooker’s first ever all-Chinese ranking final.

The growth of the sport in Asia has been pronounced, with four ranking events this season in China alone and a host of players emerging. This was the first time two of them had gone all the way in a ranking tournament, though, and it was the more established Ding who prevailed to win his seventh title – and his second on home soil.