Ding Junhui sets up blockbuster showdown with title holder at the 2026 World Snooker Championship

On paper, world number 16 Ding looked like being one of the seeds who were in danger of elimination in round one, but he built an early lead and kept his opponent at arm's length.

Breaks of 94 and 74 helped him towards a 3-1 mid-session interval advantage, before efforts of 100, 72 and 52 pushed him further clear to a 7-2 overnight buffer.

On resumption the next morning, Gilbert took three of the first four frames to close the gap to three at 8-5 down, but Ding extinguished his peer's hopes of a big comeback with runs of 106 and 61 to get the job done.

The 39-year-old's opening century in that match was his 100th ton in World Snooker Championship competition - only the eighth person to achieve this very impressive milestone.

It has been a busy end to the professional season, but not for China's Ding. His last match on the top flight was over two months ago when he lost to Hong Kong's Marco Fu in World Open qualifying held in Barnsley.

The result meant he failed to qualify for the main venue stages held in his homeland a few weeks later, and as a consequence he could no longer make the cut for the final two Players Series events in Telford (Players Championship) and Manchester (Tour Championship).

Ding to face compatriot Zhao in monumental all-Chinese clash

Through to the last 16 of snooker's blue riband event for the 13th time in his career, Ding books a round two date with fellow countryman Zhao Xintong in what could be the most watched snooker match, ever, in China.

Zhao is the reigning world champion. Twelve months ago, he created history in becoming the first player from Asia to win the sport's ultimate prize.

During his opening round match on Saturday, the 29-year-old was patchy at times, but still racked up a trio of century breaks in a 10-7 win over qualifier Liam Highfield.

Ding versus Zhao is a clash between China's two greatest snooker players. Ding is the Far East country's original green baize trailblazer - he memorably claimed his maiden ranking title on home soil at the 2005 China Open in Beijing. Having turned only 18-years-old during the competition, he defeated seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry in the final, which was apparently watched by 110 million domestic television viewers.

But whilst Ding has 15 ranking event titles to his name - including three UK Championship crowns - he has yet to land snooker's ultimate prize. It is a decade ago when he came closest to lifting the trophy; he was denied 18-14 in the final by Mark Selby who regained it.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after his win, looking ahead to his meeting with Zhao - where he could inflict the famous ‘Crucible Curse’ - Ding slightly played down the upcoming occasion, saying “I think it is just a match. We both want to play really well. he really wants to defend this. We will see on the day. I know, it's an incredible match against Zhao Xintong. I know he's playing very good. He won the last three tournaments, he is so confident, very consistent and people love to watch him, me too."

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Snooker Championship, visit our tournament information centre here.