Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui has qualified for the 2005 World Snooker China Open, a ￡200,000, or over 3 million yuan world-ranking event.

The 17-year-old Chinese player defeated Mark Davis of Briton 5-2 to become the second Chinese player to qualify for the event, after Liang Wenbo eliminated Nigel Bond to advance.

Ding Junhui, currently the No. one player in China, will play Peter Ebdon of Britain in the first round.

Ding Junhui shot to international prominence in 2002, when he won the Asian under-21 championship, the Asian Championship, and the IBSF World under-21 championship.

In February 2004 Ding Junhui was awarded a wildcard entry to the Masters championship in London, where in the first round he defeated the world no. 16-ranked player, Joe Perry, before narrowly losing in the second round to Stephen Lee.

His performance favourably impressed many commentators who have rated him a likely future World Champion.