On January 3rd, Beijing time, the Hangzhou CBSA Snooker Superstar Invitational concluded two thrilling matches. Two Chinese players, Xiao Guodong and Ding Junhui, staged two remarkable comebacks, winning four consecutive frames each. Xiao Guodong turned a 1-3 deficit into a 5-3 victory over Mark Williams, while Ding Junhui made an even more impressive comeback from 1-4 to 5-4, defeating world number one Judd Trump. Notably, Ding Junhui achieved this feat after Trump scored a maximum break of 147 in the fifth frame to take match point, making it an incredible comeback! On this day, Chinese players Xiao Guodong and Ding Junhui consecutively defeated two world champions. It's worth mentioning that Xiao Guodong also scored a 147 in the eighth frame against Mark Williams, meaning that the Hangzhou Invitational saw two maximum breaks in one day!
In the afternoon session, Xiao Guodong faced off against Mark Williams. Xiao won his first ranking title at the Wuhan Open this season, marking a significant breakthrough in his career. Three-time World Champion Mark Williams had previously triumphed at the elite-packed Snooker Masters Invitational, defeating Xiao Guodong in the final. In their rematch this season, Williams took an early lead of 3-1 in the first four frames, scoring two century breaks with 121 and 100 points. After the mid-game break, Xiao Guodong improved his form, continuously scoring decisive single-frame victories, and in the eighth frame, he made a perfect clearance with a 147 maximum break to conclude the match. He won four frames in the second half, turning the tables from a 1-3 deficit to a 5-3 victory over world champion Mark Williams.
In the evening session, Ding Junhui faced Judd Trump in an 80's Five Tigers showdown! Ranked ninth in the world, Ding Junhui recently lost 1-5 to Trump at the Macau Invitational. This season, Ding won the National Championship, ending a five-year drought in ranking titles, while Trump has won multiple major events, including the UK Championship, maintaining his top position in the single-season rankings. In this match, Trump quickly found his rhythm, while Ding was slow to heat up and made frequent mistakes. Trump scored consecutive breaks of 63, 60, and 99 points to win three frames, with Ding managing to win one frame with a break of 90 points. At the start of the second half, Trump made a 147 maximum break in the fifth frame to take multiple match points, which was the second 147 of the day following Xiao Guodong's.
When Trump made the 147 and took a commanding 4-1 lead with match points, it seemed the outcome was no longer in doubt. However, Trump then let the tiger return to the mountain, and Ding seized the opportunity to get hot, scoring breaks of over 100 with 108 and 113 points and winning four frames in a row. From a desperate situation of trailing 1-4, he saved match points to complete an amazing comeback, ultimately winning a full nine frames 5-4 to defeat world number one Judd Trump who had made a 147 maximum break.