Ding and Liang form 'dream team' for Snooker World Cup

Top Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui plays in the World Snooker China Open on April 2, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Top Chinese snooker players Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo have once again teamed up to represent China at the 2017 Snooker World Cup, which cues off in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on July 3, according to China Sports Daily.

Ding and Liang will be looking to reclaim the World Cup title they first won in 2011 in Wuxi, and the world number four and number 11 are among the favorites going into the event.

But the Chinese pair will face strong competition from the other 23 teams at the tournament, not least from their compatriots Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong. Despite being named the China “B” team, Yan and Zhou return to Wuxi as holders, having won the previous edition of the World Cup in 2015.

The English pair of Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins, ranked third and fifth in the world respectively, also looks strong on paper, while Scotland's 2017 World Snooker Championship finalist John Higgins and Australian star Neil Robertson are sure to provide a threat.

If Ding and Liang succeed in securing the title, they will also take home a whopping $200,000 in winnings. There is $800,000 prize money up for grabs in total.

This is the second time Wuxi has hosted the World Cup since the competition was revived in 2011, and the city has already begun preparing the Wuxi Sports Park Gymnasium for the event.

Ding is sure to receive a particularly rapturous welcome in the eastern Chinese city: He grew up just a few miles from the venue, in the county-level city of Yixing.