SNOOKER/WORLD CUP:CHINA WON the first World Cup since 1996 after Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo beat Northern Ireland's Mark Allen and Gerard Greene in yesterday's final in Bangkok.

The pair roared into a 3-0 lead and held off a fightback to clinch victory in the second doubles frame.

Ding took the first frame with breaks of 37 and 84 and Liang wasted no time in taking the second, the 77-0 scoreline meaning Allen’s solitary red in frame one remained the only pot for the Irish.

Allen and Greene had lost all four doubles frames in the knockout stages and an overcut red from Greene let China in in frame three, but they broke down on 46 when Ding lost position.

A miss from Allen let them back in, though, and they closed out the frame for an imposing 3-0 lead.

Greene extended the match as he was reprieved after an early error and capitalised with a 109 to beat Ding, but Liang still had the chance to seal the title against Allen. He made 55 but missed a straightforward pink and Allen responded with 69 and got over the line after a high-quality safety battle, leaving Northern Ireland needing to end their doubles hoodoo to set up a decider.

But the alternate-shot format proved their Achilles heel again as an early miss from Greene allowed Ding and Liang to compile a break of 89 and seal a 4-2 win.

Ding said: “When the last World Cup was held I was nine and had only just picked up my first cue a few months before. I’m very proud of China. We’ve made a lot of friends at this tournament.”

Northern Ireland’s Allen responded: “If someone had said we would get to the final then we would’ve taken it but being in the final you never want to finish runners-up. We’ve won a bit of money to put in the bank but it’s just a shame we couldn’t lift the trophy.”

WORLD CUP, Bangkok, Thailand Semi-finals: Hong Kong 3 Northern Ireland 4; Match 45: Wales 1 China 4. Final: China 4 Northern Ireland 2.