Ding Junhui targets seeds after qualifying for Crucible
By Stephen Turner
Last Updated: 19/04/16 8:36am
Ding Junhui says he will be every seeded player's nightmare draw at the upcoming World Championship.
Ding's ranking of 17 meant he needed to win three qualifiers to book a place at the Crucible, and he sailed through for the loss of just seven frames.
And with recently-recruited coach Terry Griffiths in his corner, the former world No 1 is convinced he can cause an upset in Sheffield this month.
"They don't want to play me. It doesn't matter who I play," said Ding, who sealed his spot with a 10-2 win over former World Championship runner-up Nigel Bond on Wednesday.
"I was facing pressure to get back to the Crucible because I didn't want to miss the chance to play at the World Championship.
"From last season, before I started work with Terry Griffiths, I had lost a lot of confidence. I lacked confidence to play any tournament. After Terry told me how to work on my mind, I started playing well and thinking well, and that's been the difference.
"I was upset a lot. After winning five ranking tournaments and losing to lower-ranking players ... there's nobody guaranteed to win but I think I'm favourite to win and that's what I need to learn. Terry's told me to change my thinking because you're not guaranteed to beat anybody."
Anthony McGill, who reached the quarter-finals on his Crucible debut last year, is also back on the big stage.
Victories over fellow Scot Stephen Maguire and defending champion Mark Selby saw McGill establish his name 12 months ago.
The 25-year-old Glaswegian fended off Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who in the fourth frame of Tuesday's opening session missed the black for the chance of a 147 and hurled his cue onto the table in frustration, having made the same costly error at the UK Championship four months ago.
McGill said: "His head was in his hands at the side of the table and you feel really bad for him, but only for a minute.
"I've only got good memories of the Crucible. I've not played there long enough to have bad memories and hopefully I won't have any bad ones from this year."
Alan McManus, Robert Milkins and David Gilbert are also through to the main draw after completing wins in the final qualifying round on Wednesday.
Peter Ebdon completed a 10-2 victory over Ian Burns, with the 45-year-old earning his 23rd Crucible appearance and first since 2013.
The 2002 title winner said: "I'm absolutely over the moon. It's going to be wonderful and it means so much to me to be back this year, it's 23 years out of 25 years as a professional. That's a record I'm really, really proud of."
Ken Doherty fell 10-6 to Welshman Ryan Day, after Ireland's 1997 world champion squandered a 5-4 overnight lead.
Scotland's Graeme Dott, world champion in 2006, beat Mike Dunn 10-7, and two-time runner-up Ali Carter saw off Dominic Dale 10-6. Another twice losing finalist, Matthew Stevens, fell 10-6 to rising star Kyren Wilson.
