UK champion Ding Junhui sees his winning run end in Glasgow

The world No 9 had not won a ranking title for two years before being crowned UK champion in York on Sunday.

The Sheffield-based potter looked to have carried that fine form to Glasgow, after cruising to the third round, before losing to Dott.

But it was an outcome largely in tune with the 14-time ranking event winner’s season, with his Barbican crown representing more of an anomaly than a normality following first-round losses at the English and Northern Ireland Opens.

“The last two years were difficult to go through – I totally lost my confidence and my practice, my routines and my qualities were totally lost,” he reflected.

“Sometimes I made myself look like an amateur, which is not good, and there is nothing compared with being a top 16 player.

“To be a top 16 player you need to be winning more than the players outside the top 16, and in the past two years I’d done nothing.”

Ding, who has a degree in Business Administration and Management from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, is 32 but sees no reason why he can’t carry on playing for another decade.

“I’ve obviously got a degree but I haven’t got a plan yet!” he added.

“In the next five years, I’m sure I’ll still be in the game, and if my form is okay and good enough then maybe I’ll play for another 10 years.

“But I’ll be playing in five years and there’s nothing to worry about that.”

Next up for Ding is next month’s Masters before attempting to claim his first world title at the Crucible in April, and challenging the likes of Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2020.

“People love to watch whoever is performing the best at that moment playing against each other – I always trust Judd as he’s a good player, and we used to practice together when we were younger,” he added.

“He’s talented and very good, and you can see him winning those titles already, and they’ve all come through Ronnie so he must be a very tough player to beat. Ronnie looks like he’s enjoying his game and his career.”

Watch the Scottish Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport Player and Quest with studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White