Ding Junhui in action during the Wembly Masters Snooker Championships in January this year in which he failed to sustain his success. [Photo: Shanghai Daily]

The fans didn't spare their cheers when Ding brought home his fourth world ranking championship title, lauding this "snooker genius" who had a remarkable return to form after being off his game for two years.

"I did not set any goal before the 2009 United Kingdom Snooker Championship, but practiced a lot, at least seven hours every day," Ding said.

Although described by media and fans as an iron fist in a velvet glove, he is quite shy.

"Ding is a steady going man for someone so young. He barely talks and keeps his opinions to himself," said Zhang Meng, his agent and best friend.

Ding credits his turnaround to the personal confidence he gained from the encouragement and support of family and friends who "helped me to adjust myself and get through all the difficulties."

"Sometimes I just totally put aside snooker and went around the world with my family and friends to relax and just talk," he said.

"My father and my agency also arranged some college courses for me. All of these have made my life more colorful and I have become much livelier," Ding said.

While his rise to fame and dominance in the snooker world has been rapid, and in some senses unprecedented, it was all a bit of a gamble instigated by his father.

The snooker genius was born in 1987 in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, a place rich in culture and famous for boccaro, a fine grained red porcelain stoneware.

His father, Ding Wenjun, was a major fan of snooker and set up two tables for people to pay-for-play outside his small shop selling cigarettes and wine.

When young Ding Junhui first pocketed a colored ball at the age of eight, his father decided to nurture him into a professional snooker career. Just a year later, Ding was unbeatable in his hometown. Formal training started when he turned 11 and he began playing in senior events before his height equaled that of a cue. Despite his size, adult opponents found they were incapable of containing the precocious youth.

Ding's family did everything to support his development, allowing him to quit school to fully concentrate on training. They sold their property and relinquished the small business to move to Dongguan, Guangdong Province, where the national snooker team trains.

His dad worked as a casual laborer to support the family and with no extra money for rent, father and son lived in a five-square-meter space partitioned off the corridor at the end of local snooker club's dormitory. At this time Ding dreamed of being able to afford a home of his own.

After becoming famous, Ding wrote an autobiography named "I Bet My Life On Snooker." It has since been published as "My Successful Road to the Championship," due to the negative connotations of the word "bet."