Ledley goes snooker loopy at Ally Pally!

Ledley King took the table alongside world-renowned snooker star Ding Junhui at the Masters at Alexandra Palace this week.

Our legendary former captain and current Club Ambassador was invited down to the iconic venue to experience the sport’s most prestigious invitational event, with 16 top stars from around the globe competing against each other for the Paul Hunter Trophy.

Prior to the first session on Monday, Ledley was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the set-up, including an up-close look at the match table, a step inside the TV and commentary studios overlooking the arena and a look at the backstage areas and players’ practice room.

It was there that he met up with current world number four and the most successful Asian player of all-time, Ding, who teamed up with our 2008 League Cup winner for a special snooker challenge with a footballing theme. With the balls set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the pair took it in turns to take a shot as they looked to pot as many as possible in 90 seconds. Look out for the video on Spurs TV soon.

Ding, who has won 13 major ranking titles during a tremendous career to date and also triumphed at the 2011 Masters, received a personalised Spurs shirt from Ledley before going on to compete with Ryan Day in his first round match. After surging into a three-frame lead, he eventually went down 6-4.

Ledley also bumped into Marco Fu in the practice room as he prepared for his match with Ronnie O’Sullivan on Tuesday.

“It was a privilege to go backstage at the Masters and meet Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, two players who are very highly regarded in snooker,” said Ledley. “I used to play a bit of snooker myself when I was younger – just for fun, of course – but it was fascinating to talk to Ding and Marco to learn a bit about how they prepare for matches.”

Ding, who is a patron of Sheffield United, added: “It was very nice to meet Ledley and test his skills with a cue. I always enjoy the opportunity to meet top-class players and legends from other sports and it was interesting to hear about the progress that Spurs are making with their team and also with their new stadium, which sounds very exciting.”

Pictures with thanks to Tai Chengzhe / World Snooker / worldsnooker.com