CHINA'a no 1 snooker player Ding Junhui has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The 13 ranking title winner joins an elite group of players in the Hall such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, and Mark Williams.

The award for Ding came at the annual World Snooker Awards in London at the Dorchester Hotel which also saw gongs go for Player of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

2018 Betfred World Snooker Champion Mark Williams picked up two gongs, and they were:

  • Performance of the Year
  • Snooker Writers' Player of the Year

Ronnie O'Sullivan, winner of five ranking events this season and 33 in total over his career, also picked up two gongs, and they were:

  • Player of the Year
  • Fans Player of the Year

Shootout winner Michael Georgiou, who played that incredible final with Graeme Dott in the 2018 Snooker Shootout, in which Dott almost made a terrific comeback picked up Magical Moment of the Year for winning his first ranking title.

The Rookie of the Year award went to China's Xu Si. Last year it went to China's Yan Bingtao, who had achieved a Crucible debut.

Crucible nearly winners

Ding, 31, is the first Chinese player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, Ding has yet to win the World Championship despite coming close in 2016 when he lost out to Mark Selby in the final. In the awards last year, six-times World finalist Jimmy White and Snooker Scene Magazine editor Clive Everton were inducted into the World Snooker Hall of Fame. Everton, now 80, whose career has spanned decades involved in snooker as a writer, editor, commentator, and author, was also a good billiards player before a back injury meant he couldn't play.

In snooker's heyday boom of the 1980s, Everton was one of three leading commentators for the BBC and its live coverage and was considered the Voice of the game. Snooker Scene was founded in the 70s, as the game became awash with money and sponsorship from clubs and others on the scene.

Hall of Fame 2011 - 18

There are now 30 people inducted into the Hall.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn was also inducted in on Thursday.

Again, last year's awards saw Mark Selby trouser three gongs, and they were for...

  • Player of the Year
  • Fans' Player of the Year
  • Journalists' Player of the Year

The World Snooker awards have been going since 2011 and the very first names to have gone into the Hall of Fame were Joe and Fred Davis.

In 2012, the three incredible class of 92 players, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins, still going strong in 2018 were all inducted into the Hall at the same time.

There's yet to be a woman/women inducted into the Hall of Fame despite there being the talents of Reanne Evans, who has won 11 World Women Championships and done a lot for the game to promote the female tour.
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