UK Championship snooker 2020 - Ding Junhui suggests he could withdraw if fans attend event

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Updated 27/11/2020 at 09:29 GMT

Ding Junhui is not keen to see crowds return to the UK Championship. Snooker has been played behind closed doors so far this season but that could change when lockdown restrictions are lifted on December 2. Milton Keynes is a tier two region, but defending champion Ding says "it’s not safe I will pull out at any time".

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Ding Junhui has suggested he may pull out of the UK Championship if fans return as he wouldn’t feel safe and “doesn’t trust playing with a crowd”.

All snooker events this season have been played behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, but that could change on December 2 when lockdown restrictions are lifted.

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Milton Keynes is a tier two area which means fans may be permitted to attend the UK Championship from around the quarter-final stage.

Ding, who is the defending champion, says he is not keen on fans attending the event.

Ding Junhui: 'If I don't feel safe with crowds I will pull out'

"It’s tough times for everybody,” he told Eurosport after his 6-1 first-round win over Jamie Barrett-Curtis.

Sponsors want the crowds in, but I don’t think players want the crowd in. I don’t make the decisions but I make my decisions. I am not sure, we will see what happens, but if it’s not safe I will pull out at any time.

"I think it’s not just the players. I think the crowd have to be safe with each other. They could be sitting five or six metres away and still catch the virus, unless you don’t care. A lot of people don’t care, but I do. People think in different ways.

"I don’t trust playing with a crowd, it’s just personal, not for every player. I want to play like this, with two players and one referee, that’s enough.”

Although the tournaments in Milton Keynes have been played in a bubble, three players withdrew from the UK Championship after testing positive for Covid-19.

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"Every tournament there are one or two players who catch the virus," said Ding, who withdrew from the Tour Championship in June as a "safety precaution" and to "avoid extensive travel".

"Some players go to snooker clubs and have no choice because they need to practise for tournaments. It’s a hard time.

"I can only keep myself safe and if everybody thinks that way it should be safe. But it’s hard because people think in different ways.

"Some people don’t care, some think like me, some think this is just a bit stronger than flu. What can you say? We have no power to decide anything."

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