Ding Junhui produced snooker of the highest quality in seeing off the challenge of Scotland’s Stephen Maguire to win his third UK Championship title.
The Chinese superstar, 32, has had a relatively lean time in recent years after rising to the top of the game as a teenager but showed what the snooker world has been missing with some superb breakbuilding, including four centuries and a highest of 131.
His 10-6 victory in the final follows his UK titles in 2005 and 2009. Maguire, who won the title himself in 2004, showed flashes of his best form but could not live with Ding. For the Chinese, it is his first ranking title since his success at the World Open two years ago.
Maguire has also struggled for form in recent seasons. The 38-year-old has won five ranking titles but none since the Welsh Open six years ago.
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