Hong Kong’s Marco Fu warms up for World Snooker Championships with rare 149 break in practice match
- Fu knocks in high score at Ding Junhui Snooker Academy in Sheffield ahead of qualifiers next week
- Fu and Ng On-yee are in the same half of the draw for the qualifiers, with Fu facing Ian Burns and Ng taking on Rory McLeod
After a two-year absence from the professional circuit, Hong Kong snooker star Marco Fu Ka-chun is back with a bang ahead of his World Championship qualifiers in Sheffield next week.
Fu made a rare 149 break during a practice match on Tuesday against world No 39 Noppon Saengkham of Thailand, at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy.
The achievement sets Fu up nicely for the qualifiers, which start on Tuesday, and will feature two of Hong Kong’s best players. Fu and Ng On-yee, the women’s world No 2, are in the same half of the draw, with Fu’s first game against world No 111 Ian Burns and Ng facing world No 83 Rory McLeod.
It is the second time Fu has scored more than the normal maximum of 147, he made 148 at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in November 2020 during a practice match with teammate Chau Hon-man.
“Anything over 147 is really rare, I am really happy with this special 149, it is not only because I broke my previous personal best of 148, but also a proof that I am improving day after day,” Fu said.
The 44-year-old returned to the UK on March 22, and was initially practising on his own before starting to play some friendly matches against other top players at the academy in Sheffield.
“I haven’t picked up my cue for about two months due to Covid-19 in Hong Kong, so I need to travel to the UK 10 days earlier to get in shape,” said Fu, whose last competitive match on the professional circuit came at the Welsh Open in February 2020.
“For the first few days, I practised by myself, hoping to pick up some form before practising with some professional players here, there is still room for me to improve, to see if I can catch up with the top professionals before the qualifiers next Tuesday.”
