Ding can win World title, says beaten Marco Fu

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An estimated worldwide audience of over 100 million viewers watched on as the two potters went head to head in the first all-Asian major tournament final.

Ding came out on top as he racked up breaks of 120, 94 and 83 on the way to a 10-4 victory which earned him a winner's cheque of £150,000.

Ding has so far failed to hit the heights at the Crucible, where he has not made the quarter-finals in five attempts.

The 23-year-old admits he will take a lot of confidence from yesterday's victory and his beaten opponent has backed the former Under-21 World Champion to win the sport's ultimate prize soon.

"It's just a matter of time before he wins it," Fu said.

"He has the skills to win the Worlds but maybe in the past he has just come up against tough opponents. It's quite extraordinary that he has not done well there but it is a tough tournament. He is still very young. Give him a few more years and he'll do it."

Ding raced into a four-frame lead after the first session before Fu clawed back the first two of the evening to bring the scores to 6-4.

The Chinese star was unfazed by Fu's comeback and reeled off four straight frames to complete the victory and add the Master's crown to his two UK Championship wins.

Ding, who capitulated to a 10-3 defeat to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2007 final, admitted the huge television audience in the Far East made yesterday's win sweeter.

"The Masters is a big tournament. It will be big news in China," Ding said. "It was a great match and I was happy to play Marco in the final."

Ding is not concerned victory will increase the pressure on him at the Crucible this year.

He added: "I'm not worrying about the World Championships. This will give me more confidence and I will try hard this year but it is so hard.

"I think I need more experience in the long game. My short game is okay but my long game is different. I need to concentrate more."