China love their snooker and the paparazzi wait for their baize idols in Beijing. It's the China Open and the world's top stars are looking for valuable ranking points ahead of the World Championships in Sheffield later in April
Every snooker player is treated like royalty in China and defending champion Peter Ebdon, along with rising stars Judd Trump and Mark Allen, take to the floor and answer questions at the local university in Beijing
Ever wondered how a snooker table is put together? Star factory staff get busy as they assemble the crucial bit of apparatus. Tables for all professional tournaments are made here. Now where's that bit of slate gone?
And there's a massive shock in the first round as Ronnie O'Sullivan is sent crashing out in a 5-3 defeat to wildcard Tian Pengfei (above). The Rocket says: "I missed too many balls at crucial times."
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry says: "I always enjoy coming to China and I have a lot of fans here." But the Scot loses the last three frames in a 5-4 defeat to Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in the quarters
Ding Junhui (above) gets some practice in before playing Mark Williams in the final. An expected TV audience of 110 million are hoping their man can do it. But they're left disappointed as the Welshman comes through 10-6
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