Ding Junhui (L) of China competes during his quarterfinal match with Barry Hawkins of England at the World Snooker Championship 2018 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, Britain on May 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Craig Brough)
China's Ding Junhui suffered a humuliating 13-5 defeat to Barry Hawkins in the quarterfinals of the World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Ding, who was behind 11-5 after the second session Tuesday night, lost a scrappy opening frame Wednesday morning and then was dominated by Hawkins, who won his fifth frame in a row with a break of 117.
Ding, who has won 13 ranking titles, will have to continute to wait before becoming the first Asian player to win the world title.
The Sheffield-based Chinese star said, "I missed too many chances in and around the black ball area. My position wasn't good. I didn't put enough pressure on Barry and he punished me heavily.
"Some days you play well, some days are different. I tried to play well and score heavily but what can I say? It wasn't working out there.
"Barry's got enough experience here. He's got a good record here and he'll have a lot of confidence to go on and win it.
"I believe I can still win this one day. I'll always keep up my hopes and I'll never give up. I'm a sportsman, I can't give up."
It was the fifth time for Hawkins to reach the semifinals since 2013. He has now won 18 matches at Crucible since 2013; no other player has won as many matches over the same period, including three-time champion Mark Selby.
"I was expecting a really tough game there from Ding, but I got a nice bit of momentum and to beat him 13-5 is a great result.
"I felt like he gave up in the end, his body language suggested that he didn't fancy the job today."
The 39-year-old now meets Mark Williams or Ali Carter over 33 frames on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for a place in the final.
"Mark Williams and Ali Carter are both great players. Ali is having a great tournament, he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan and is playing really well. Mark Williams has had the season of his life. It's going to be really tough against either player."
