2024 International Championship Snooker Final Preview: Chris Wakelin v Ding Junhui

Played across two sessions (06:00GMT and 11:30GMT start times), the first cueist to 10 frames will lift the trophy and pocket the £175,000 first prize.

Ding is aiming to win this title for the second time; in 2013 he pipped Marco Fu, 10-9, in the final. He also made the final in 2016, although suffered a heavy 10-1 loss to Mark Selby.

Prior to this week, Wakelin had never been past the last 64 of this competition in his previous eight attempts, although the soon-to-be top 16 star is currently enjoying the best and most consistent spell of his professional career.

Routes to the final

Ding had his opening round match held over to the main venue but he wasn't engaged for too long in a 6-0 victory over Reanne Evans.

In fact, Ding relinquished only one frame across his first three matches, sweeping aside Martin O’Donnell 6-1 in the last 64 and Hossein Vafaei 6-0 in the last 32.

‘The Dragon’ then ended the run of world number 77 Jiang Jun 6-3 before stopping reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson 6-4 in the quarter-finals, freezing out his opponent in the final two frames with efforts of 129 and 123.

Wilson - who battled back from 4-1 down - was on a ten match winning streak on the World Snooker Tour.

In the semi-finals, Ding recovered from 5-2 behind to fellow countryman Xu Si, claiming seven of the final eight frames for a 9-6 victory.

Wakelin eliminated Ka Wai Cheung 6-2 in his first round 'qualifier' in England at the end of September to book his berth in the Far East.

The Englishman received a walkover in the last 64 in China due to Zak Surety's non-arrival before dismissing three world champions in as many days and in as many rounds. The 32-year-old defeated Shaun Murphy (6-3), Mark Williams (6-4) and John Higgins (6-5) in the last 32, 16 and eight, respectively.

More drama and emotion was to come for Wakelin in the semi-finals when he stood up to immense pressure in ousting newly crowned Wuhan Open Champion Xiao Guodong, 9-8, having seen his opponent force a deciding frame from 8-5 down.

If reaching the title match wasn't enough, that win in the last four also secured Wakelin a place in the world's top 16 rankings for the first time in his career.

Across the tournament, Ding has made six century breaks and Wakelin has compiled four (although Wakelin has played one match fewer).

Head-to-head record

Ding and Wakelin have only played twice before on the professional circuit, and those contests came nearly seven years apart.

In the last 64 of the 2017 Scottish Open, Ding won 4-2, but only last month in the last 16 of the Wuhan Open in China, Wakelin hit three century breaks in successive frames (128, 139, 132) in a 5-3 victory over Ding that he described as “what dreams are made of.”

What victory on Sunday would mean and represent

As well a difference of £100,000 in prize money between the runner-up (£75k) and winner (£175k), the 2024 International Championship title winner will also earn a spot at next week's Champion of Champions invitational where they will bank a further £12,500 for merely turning up.

Wakelin is appearing in his third ranking event final and is aiming for his second ranking crown having won the Snooker Shoot Out in early 2023, although this is undoubtedly the biggest match of his career, to date.

In terms of the world rankings, Wakelin is guaranteed to be in the world's top 16 for the first time whether he wins or loses.

However, should he lift the trophy on Sunday, he would move up to 11th in the standings, surely cementing a debut at the Masters in January, and putting himself in the picture to qualify for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship just before Christmas. The top ten players in the world after the UK Championship will be invited to that lucrative tournament in Saudi Arabia.

This run to the final has come at a perfect time for Ding. Before this week, he had not been past the last 16 of a ranking event this season, and was languishing on the one-year. However, success on Sunday would rocket him up the one-year standings, and surely guarantee his participation in all three Players Series events later in the campaign.

In terms of his overall world ranking, this prize money comes in very handy as he is defending a sizeable chunk of money at the upcoming UK Championship having made the final there two years ago. A win over Wakelin would put Ding up into eighth; he too will be assessing his position in terms of qualifying for the golden ball 167 invitational in Riyadh.

Beside the Champion of Champions place and ranking implications, though, Ding has the opportunity to end a near five-year wait for a ranking event title; the last of his 14 ranking triumphs came at the 2019 UK Championship.

It is over seven years since Ding last won a professional trophy of any description in China; his most recent came at the 2017 World Open in Yushan.

For full details on the 2024 International Championship, including the draw, results, format, prize money and how to watch, please visit our tournament information centre here