Jump to content

Marco Fu: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 82: Line 82:
==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Marco Fu has a girlfriend, Shirley, who is also from Hong Kong. She has recently completed her Masters at a London University in Supply Chain Logistics.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/dec/21/snooker Snooker: Murphy and Fu will fight out the final - The Observer - 20 December 2008]</ref>
Marco Fu has a girlfriend, Shirley, who is also from Hong Kong. She has recently completed her Masters at a London University in Supply Chain Logistics.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/dec/21/snooker Snooker: Murphy and Fu will fight out the final - The Observer - 20 December 2008]</ref>

*He is a [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] fan.


==Tournament Wins==
==Tournament Wins==

Revision as of 21:02, 21 March 2010

Marco Fu
Professional1998–
Highest ranking
  1. 8 (2009/10)
Current ranking 68 (as of 8 September 2024)
Century breaks528 (as of 7 September 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking1

Marco Fu (Chinese: 傅家俊; pinyin: Fù Jiājùn; Yale: Fu6 Ka1 Chun3; born 8 January 1978) is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley.[1] He is best known for winning the 2007 Snooker Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, and for being runner-up in the 2008 UK Championship. He also reached the semi finals of the 2006 World Snooker Championship.

Life and career

Early career

Marco Fu started playing snooker at the age of nine, but did not start playing regularly until he was 15.[3] Fu was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Vancouver, Canada with his parents at the age of 12. After his high school graduation at age 18, Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council Co. Ltd President Joseph Lo invited him to return to Hong Kong to begin his career as a professional snooker player.[3] Before turning professional, Fu won the World Amateur and World Under-21 Championships, both in 1997.[3]

First year as a professional

In 1998, the year he turned professional, Fu reached the final of the Grand Prix, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan (5-2) and then Peter Ebdon (5-3) in the process.[4] An in-form Stephen Lee proved too strong for Fu in the final, defeating him 9-2, but Fu nevertheless rose dramatically through the rankings, reaching number 15 in the world for the 2000/01 season.[5] When he first turned professional, he was ranked 377th in the world.[4] During the rest of the 1998/99 season, Fu qualifed for four more ranking tournaments,[6] including the World Championship, winning four qualifying matches before losing to James Wattana 10-8 in the first round of the main draw.[6]

He was voted WPBSA Newcomer of the Year[1] and WSA Young Player of the Year in 1999.[4] Tipped by many pundits as a potential champion of the game,[5] Fu's subsequent performance was disappointing, and he slid back down the rankings.

Rise through the rankings

In the 1999/2000 season, with Fu now ranked 35 in the world, he received automatic entry into the main draw of most of the ranking tournaments. Although he failed to repeat the success of reaching the final of the Grand Prix, he made a credible run to the quarter finals before losing to Allister Carter. Other achievements of note include reaching semi finals of the Malta Grand Prix and the Scottish Open.[7]

Fu is a prolific break-builder.[8] He achieved his highest break of 147 in 2000 at the Regal Scottish Masters[5] and has compiled 147 competitive century breaks during his career.[9]

The 2000/01 season brought more bad news for Fu, as he was now ranked 15th in the world,[10] his first appearance in the top 16. However, a succession of defeats in the last 16, and a first round defeat in the World Snooker Championships to Chris Small, saw him fall out of the top 16 for next season.[11] The 2001/02 season was a terrible season for Fu, his best result being a last-16 appearance at the LG Cup.[12] He failed to qualify for three ranking events, including the World Championship, and, as a result, his ranking fell to 27 for the following season, his lowest for two seasons.[13]

The 2002/03 season brought better luck for Fu, although prior to the Welsh Open his best result was reaching the third round of the UK Championship in December 2002, where he was defeated 7-9 by Ronnie O'Sullivan. However, at the Welsh Open in February 2003, he produced a run to the semi finals. Fu whitewashed Stephen Lee 5-0 in the second round and beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-3 in the quarter-finals, thus avenging the result at the UK Championship, before losing his semi-final 6-4 to Stephen Hendry, who went on to win the title.[14]

Going into the 2003 World Championship three months later, first round losses at the European[15] and Scottish Open[16] suggested he would not go far in the tournament, particularly as his first round opponent was world No. 1 and runaway favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan. Despite Fu's victory over O'Sullivan in the Welsh Open, few pundits expected Fu would be capable of defeating O'Sullivan in a best-of-19 frames match. However, in the event, Fu reached the first of his two World Championship quarter-finals to date. In what Snooker Scene magazine described as "one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game", the unseeded 25-year-old overcame the odds to defeat O'Sullivan in their first round clash. Fu dominated this match from the outset, opening up a 6-3 overnight lead; and although O'Sullivan made four centuries (including a maximum 147 break), Fu never looked to be in trouble and won 10-6.[17] Fu subsequently eliminated Alan McManus 13-7 in the second round[18] before losing 13-7 to Stephen Lee in his quarter-final.[19]

In 2003, Fu also won his first title since turning professional in the invitational Hasseroder Premier League, beating Mark Williams 9-5 in the final in Sunderland. This was the first time the title went outside of the British Isles.[20]

First ranking tournament title

As a result of his run to the quarter finals of the World Championship the previous season, he climbed up to number 19 for the 2003/04 season.[21] This meant he only had to play one qualifying match to progress to the main draw of the tournaments. He qualified for all the ranking tournaments except the World Championship, his best results including a third round loss to Michael Holt in the LG Cup[22] and reaching the semi finals of the Welsh Open, beating Liu Song, Matthew Stevens, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry before succumbing to Steve Davis.[23] After a consistent 2003/2004 season, he regained a top 16 position for 2004/05 season, ranked 16.[24]

The following season was less consistent, although he qualified for all tournaments but the Malta Cup, and his best result was a quarter final loss to Ding Junhui at the China Open.[25] He finished the season ranked 25, falling seven places.[26] The 2005/06 season did not look better either, a series of first round defeats saw him provisionally drop out of the top 32. However, he had a good 2006 World Championship, beating three seeded players - Alan McManus 10-3, Stephen Maguire 13-4, and Ken Doherty 13-10 - to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to world no.7 and 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon 17-16. In that match, Fu was 15-9 down with only one session left to play, but won seven out of the next eight frames to send the match into the deciding frame, which Ebdon eventually won.[27] Fu's success in this tournament can be largely attributed to working with coach Terry Griffiths. Marco had used Griffiths for a short while some years ago - but did not commit to the necessary changes in technique.[5] This run enable him to stay in the world top 32 for next season, ranked 22.[28]

The 2006/07 season was not hugely successful. He skipped the UK Championship [29] to play in the Asian games (winning two medals there), and, largely due to the fact that he was affected by a virus, was unable to repeat his World Championship form of the previous year, losing 10-3 to Anthony Hamilton in the first round,[30] a defeat that saw Fu start the 2007/2008 season ranked 27th in the world - a drop of five places.[29] His best result that season was a quarter final run in the China Open, where he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan.[31]

The 2007/08 season was to bring his first ranking title. Following a first round loss at the Shanghai Masters and nine years after his first appearance in a ranking final at the 1998 Grand Prix, Fu won the 2007 Royal London Watches Grand Prix — his first ever victory in a ranking event. After defeating the reigning World Champion John Higgins in the first knockout round 5-4, Liu Song 5-0 in the quarter-final and Gerard Greene 6-5 in the semi-final, he faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.[32] After falling 4-3 behind at the mid-session interval, he went on to win 9-6, with a break of 76 in the final frame.[33] Previously, Fu's biggest title has only been the invitational Hasseroder Premier League which he captured in 2003. For the rest of the season, he reached the quarter finals of the UK Championship, losing to Mark Selby; he also reached the semi finals of the Masters, losing to Stephen Lee.

He qualified for the 2008 World Championship, with a 10-3 win over Alan McManus [34]. He played China's Ding Junhui in the first round of 2008 World Championship, and it was an emphatic fight, which he lost 10-9.[35] He capped a successful season by finishing a career high 14 in the rankings, a climb of thirteen places from the previous season.[36] This guaranteed Fu automatic a bye to the main draw of tournaments next season without playing qualifying matches, as well as being seeded.

Recent times

The 2008/09 season started with a last-32 loss to Barry Hawkins in the Northern Ireland Trophy. Most recently, Fu crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters to Mark Selby. At the Grand Prix, he lost in the second round to Ronnie O'Sullivan, a repeat of last season's final. Things did not improve for Fu in the inaugural Bahrain Championship, where he lost in the first round to Dominic Dale. At the UK Championship, he beat Barry Hawkins in the first round, followed by Matthew Stevens and Joe Perry. In the semi-finals, Fu knocked out the 2008 World Snooker Championship runner up, Ali Carter, after a great comeback. At one stage in the match he was trailing 5-2, but Carter missed a simple pink ball in the eighth frame, allowing Fu to win the frame, ending the first session trailing by 3-5. He levelled to 6-6, and then led by 8-6, making three centuries in the process. In the final, Fu was defeated (after conceding) by Shaun Murphy in a tense match by 10 frames to 9. It was a match highly affected by tension and both of the players did not produce their best form, the only century being a 102 from Fu. He suffered a first round defeat to John Higgins at the Masters, decided by a fluked last black, in what was a great effort to nearly force a decider. In the Welsh Open, Fu was defeated by Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, having beaten Fergal O'Brien en route as well as runaway favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan's defeat by Marco (5-3) has increased Marco's lead in head to heads, having beaten O'Sullivan 8 times in 15 attempts. This is the best record yet on the professional circuit. In the 2009 World Championship, he advanced to the second round by beating Joe Swail 10-4 comfortably. He faced Shaun Murphy in the next round, by whom he was beaten by 3-13.

Fu's 2009/10 season started with a last-16 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan by 5-2 at the Shanghai Masters. Along the way, Fu edged out Nigel Bond 5-4. At the Grand Prix he lost in the last-32 4-5 against Mark Davis.

In December 2009, Fu participated in the 2009 East Asian Games, held in Hong Kong. In the singles competition he was beaten by Chinese Yu Delu 4-1 in the quarter final.[37] But later won a gold medal in the team competition with Hong Kong.[38]

Records

Marco Fu
Medal record
Representing  Hong Kong
Men's Snooker
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Bangkok Team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Busan Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Team
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2009 Hong Kong Team

Fu once held the record for the longest frame in the history of televised snooker. The record of 77 minutes held with Mark Selby was played out during the decisive final frame during the four quarter-final match at the 2007 UK Snooker Championship held in Telford, England. Fu eventually lost the match 9-7.[39] However, the record was then broken by Shaun Murphy and Dave Harold in a match at the China Open later in the same season. The new record is 93 minutes.

Personal life

Marco Fu has a girlfriend, Shirley, who is also from Hong Kong. She has recently completed her Masters at a London University in Supply Chain Logistics.[40]

Tournament Wins

Ranking Tournaments

Non Ranking Tournaments

Amateur Tournaments

  • IBSF World Under-21 Championship - 1997
  • IBSF World Amateur Championship - 1997

References

  1. ^ a b c "Official player profile of Marco Fu". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. "Players" section. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  2. ^ "Marco Fu". Yahoo! UK. 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Squat Issue 2.5 - Marco Fu Q&A
  4. ^ a b c "Snooker Player Profiles: Marco Fu". Sporting Life. Retrieved April 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d Janie Watkins (2005). "Player Profile: Marco Fu". The Global Snooker Centre. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  6. ^ a b "WWW Snooker: Marco Fu (Hong Kong) - Stats from the 1998/99 ranking tournaments". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  7. ^ "Marco Fu (Hong Kong): Stats from the 1999/00 ranking tournaments". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  8. ^ John Parrott (2001). "John Parrott's Player Profiles". BBC Sport. Retrieved April 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Chris Turner's Snooker Archive: Snooker's Top Century Makers". 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  10. ^ "2000/2001 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  11. ^ "2001/2002 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  12. ^ "LG Cup 2001". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  13. ^ "2002/2003 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  14. ^ WWW Snooker: Regal Welsh Open 2003 results
  15. ^ "European Open 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  16. ^ "Regal Scottish Open 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  17. ^ Phil Harlow (2003). "O'Sullivan stunned by qualifier". BBC Sport. Retrieved May 5, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Dan Warren (2003). "Fu charges into quarters". BBC Sport. Retrieved May 5, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Dan Warren (2003). "Lee brushes past Fu". BBC Sport. Retrieved May 5, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  20. ^ Chris Turner (2006). "Premier / Matchroom League". Retrieved April 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  21. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2003/2004". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  22. ^ "LG Cup 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  23. ^ "Welsh Open 2004". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  24. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2004/2005". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  25. ^ "China Open 2005". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  26. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2005/2006". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  27. ^ "World Snooker - Marco Fu". Sporting Life. Retrieved April 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  28. ^ The Global Snooker Centre: 2005-6 Main Tour Two Year Rankings
  29. ^ a b The Global Snooker Centre: 2006-7 Main Tour - Final Rankings Gained 0 points for the UK Championship
  30. ^ BBC Sport Snooker: Hamilton eases past below-par Fu
  31. ^ "Honghe Industrial China Open 2007". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  32. ^ Global Cue Sports Centre: 2007 Royal London Watches Grand Prix Stage 2 Results
  33. ^ "BBC Sport: Grand Prix final result". BBC Sport. 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  34. ^ World Snooker News - 888.com World Snooker Championship Qualifying - WONDERFUL WENBO
  35. ^ "Ding edges Fu in dramatic finale". BBC Sport. 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  36. ^ "World Rankings 2008/2009". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  37. ^ "Marco Fu out of East Asian Games". ESPN Star. 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  38. ^ "Cue sports - 15-red Snooker Team Men". 2009 East Asian Games. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  39. ^ "Selby into semis after epic frame". BBC Sport. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  40. ^ Snooker: Murphy and Fu will fight out the final - The Observer - 20 December 2008


Template:Top sixteen male snooker players

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marco_Fu&oldid=351228691"