Advertisement

Hong Kong snooker star Marco Fu earns first win in eight months to qualify for Riga Masters in Latvia

Cue king heads to tournament later this month after beating Elliot Slessor to put a year of eye problems behind him

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Marco Fu Ka-chun of Hong Kong of China competes during the first round match with Lyu Haotian of China at the World Snooker Championship 2018 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Photo: Xinhua

Marco Fu Ka-chun won his first match in eight months after suffering eye problems for almost a year.

Advertisement

The Hong Kong snooker ace is in a happy mood following his 4-1 victory over Elliot Slessor of England at Kaspersky Riga Masters qualifying in Preston, tweeting “First match of the season, first win of the season, first win after my eye operation eight months ago, not a bad day in office”.

The three-time ranking event winner missed several months of last season’s campaign after he underwent laser eye treatment for retinal degeneration in December.

Although he did make a brief return at the World Championship in April, Fu fell at the first hurdle to qualifier Lyu Haotian, of China. His ranking also dropped as he moved out of the top 10 to world number 18 at the end of season.

Fu lost the opening frame against Slessor in the best-of-seven match, but from there he didn’t look back. He swept up four frames on the bounce, making breaks of 77 and 59 along the way.

Advertisement
Fu will now take on Xiao Guodong, of China, in the first round of the tournament due to start on July 27 at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia. It is the first ranking event of the season.
Snooker player Marco Fu Ka-chun meets the media in Prince Edward. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Snooker player Marco Fu Ka-chun meets the media in Prince Edward. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Advertisement