Snooker World Cup: China triumph as Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo beat England's Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins in final

It was the second time Ding and Liang had teamed up to lift the trophy having done so in 2011, while the China B team of Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong had triumphed in the previous staging of the event two years ago.

England's Trump and Hawkins has been the most impressive team of the tournament during the group stages of the tournament from Monday to Friday with five victories out of five, taking 22 of the 25 frames they played.

But on Saturday they only just managed to see off Northern Ireland 4-3 in the quarter-finals and survived another narrow escape against defending champions China B in the last four on Sunday afternoon, with Hawkins beating Yuelong in a deciding frame.

This set them up with a mouth-watering final against the home favourites in Wuxi and they looked on course for glory when storming into a 3-1 lead.

To get to that point Trump had cleared from yellow to pink to win the opening frame for England before Ding beat Hawkins with a break of 68 to level. England won the doubles frame then Hawkins beat Liang for 3-1.

Ding's began China's charge with a break of 69 to close to 3-2 then a tense 40-minute doubles frame came down to the colours, with England missing chances for victory as China made it 3-3.

Ding and Trump stepped forward to play the deciding frame and it was 12-time ranking event winner Ding who dominated, making breaks of 59 and 29 to seal victory, send the home crowd wild and collect the top prize of $200,000.

It’s Ding’s first trophy since winning last year's Shanghai Masters and Liang’s first since the 2016 English Open. 

Ding told worldsnooker.com: "I have a pretty decent head-to-head record against Judd. In a deciding frame I don’t think I’ll lose to anyone. I was playing with great confidence, apart from the red I missed in the last frame. But we won in the end.

"I’m so glad to have won this in front of my home crowd, especially as it’s the World Cup title. Both of today’s matches were tough. Liang played well even when we where 2-0 down this afternoon (against Thailand). We hope this tough win can leave everyone a great memory.

"Anywhere in China the fans give me massive courage. I used to worry about performing here but I’m enjoying my people’s passion now, and they give me the motivation to play every shot well."

Liang said: "Tonight I didn’t play well so I think I put a lot of pressure on Ding. But what he did was reassuring. It’s a comfortable partnership between us and there was good chemistry."

Hawkins said: "It was tough, we both had chances, especially me at 3-2. My timing disappeared and under pressure it’s hard to get it back. But we’ve had a great week and enjoyed it."

Trump added: "The whole World Cup has been very enjoyable for everyone with a lot of close games. We could have gone out in the semi-finals. I’m happy to have been involved and hopefully I’ll be back next time."

Earlier in the semi-finals, China A saw off Thailand 4-2.

Snooker World Cup: Tournament Results

GROUP STAGES

FW = frames won, FL = frames lost

Group A 

(Q) Wales: P 5 FW 19 FL 6 F Diff +13 Pts 19
(Q) China B: P 5 FW 15 FL 10 F Diff +5 Pts 15
Brazil: P 5 FW 15 FL 10 F Diff +5 Pts 15
Malaysia: P 5 FW 10 FL 15 F Diff -5 Pts 10
Finland: P 5 FW 9 FL 18 F Diff -7 Pts 9
Norway: P 5 FW 8 FL 17 F Diff -9 Pts 8

Group A Results

China B 4-1 Finland
Wales 5-0 Norway
Malaysia 0-5 Brazil
China B 3-2 Norway
Wales 3-2 Malaysia
Finland 2-3 Brazil
China B 4-1 Brazil
Wales 5-0 Finland
Norway 2-3 Malaysia
China B 1-4 Wales
Norway 2-3 Brazil
Finland 2-3 Malaysia
China B 3-2 Malaysia
Wales 2-3 Brazil
Norway 2-3 Finland

Group B

(Q) Belgium: P 5 FW 17 FL 8 F Diff +9 Pts 17
(Q) China A: P 5 FW 17 FL 8 F Diff +9 Pts 17
Hong Kong: P 5 FW 15 FL 10 F Diff +5 Pts 15
Rep of Ireland: P 5 FW 10 FL 15 F Diff -5 Pts 10
Germany: P 5 FW 10 FL 15 F Diff -5 Pts 10
Egypt: P 5 FW 6 FL 19 F Diff -13 Pts 6

Group B Results

China A 5-0 Republic of Ireland
Hong Kong 4-1 Germany
Belgium 4-1 Egypt
China A 3-2 Germany
Hong Kong 1-4 Belgium
Republic of Ireland 3-2 Egypt
China A 4-1 Egypt
Hong Kong 4-1 Republic of Ireland
Germany 1-4 Belgium
China A 2-3 Belgium
Germany 2-3 Republic of Ireland
Hong Kong 4-1 Egypt
China A 3-2 Hong Kong
Germany 4-1 Egypt
Republic of Ireland 3-2 Belgium

Group C

(Q) England: P 5 FW 22 FL 3 F Diff +19 Pts 22
(Q) Iran: P 5 FW 16 FL 9 F Diff +7 Pts 16
Australia: P 5 FW 12 FL 13 F Diff -1 Pts 12
Switzerland: P 5 FW 9 FL 16 F Diff -7 Pts 9
Malta: P 5 FW 8 FL 17 F Diff -9 Pts 8
Pakistan: P 5 FW 8 FL 17 F Diff -9 Pts 8

Group C Results

England 5-0 Switzerland
Australia 2-3 Malta
Pakistan 2-3 Iran
England 4-1 Malta
Australia 4-1 Pakistan
Switzerland 2-3 Iran 
England 4-1 Iran
Australia 4-1 Switzerland
Malta 3-2 Pakistan
England 5-0 Pakistan
Australia 1-4 Iran
Malta 1-4 Switzerland
England 4-1 Australia
Malta 0-5 Iran
Switzerland 2-3 Pakistan

Group D

(Q) Thailand: P 5 FW 18 FL 7 F Diff +11 Pts 18
(Q) N Ireland: P 5 FW 16 FL 9 F Diff +7 Pts 16
Scotland: P 5 FW 14 FL 11 F Diff +3 Pts 14
Israel: P 5 FW 13 FL 12 F Diff +1 Pts 13
India: P 5 FW 10 FL 15 F Diff -5 Pts 10
Cyprus: P 5 FW 4 FL 21 F Diff -17 Pts 4

Group D Results

Scotland 2-3 Thailand
Northern Ireland 4-1 Cyprus
India 2-3 Israel
Scotland 3-2 Cyprus
Northern Ireland 3-2 India
Thailand 3-2 Israel
Scotland 4-1 Israel
Cyprus 1-3 India
Northern Ireland 3-2 Thailand 
Scotland 2-3 Northern Ireland
Thailand 5-0 India
Cyprus 0-5 Israel
Scotland 3-2 India
Northern Ireland 3-2 Israel
Cyprus 0-5 Thailand

Knockout Stages: Results

Quarter-Finals

England 4-3 Northern Ireland
Iran 1-4 Thailand
Wales 1-4 China A
Belgium 2-3 China B
Click here for full review

Semi-Finals

China A 4-2 Thailand
England 3-4 China B

Final

China A 4-3 England 

Click here for a full breakdown of the team line-ups and competition format