Jump to content

Marco Fu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The Gaon (talk | contribs) at 22:32, 8 December 2011. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Marco Fu
Marco Fu at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1978-01-08) 8 January 1978 (age 46)
Hong Kong
Sport country Hong Kong
Professional1998–
Highest ranking8
Current ranking 70 (as of 28 October 2024)
Century breaks532 (as of 10 November 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking1
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
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Singles
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2009 Hong Kong Team

Marco Fu Ka-chun[3][4] (Chinese: 傅家俊; pinyin: Fù Jiājùn; Yale: Fu6 Ka1 Chun3; born 8 January 1978 in Hong Kong), commonly known as Marco Fu, is a professional snooker player from Hong Kong. He currently resides in Happy Valley.[2] He is best known for winning the 2007 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 Championship.

Life and career

Early career

Fu started playing snooker at the age of nine, but did not start playing regularly until he was 15.[5] 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.[5] Before turning professional, Fu won the World Amateur and World Under-21 Championships, both in 1997.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] When he first turned professional, he was ranked 377th in the world.[6] During the rest of the 1998/99 season, Fu qualifed for four more ranking tournaments,[8] including the World Championship, winning four qualifying matches before losing to James Wattana 8–10 in the first round of the main draw.[8]

He was voted WPBSA Newcomer of the Year[2] and WSA Young Player of the Year in 1999.[6] Tipped by many pundits as a potential champion of the game,[7] 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.[9]

In the 2000/2001 season Fu was 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 Championship to Chris Small, saw him fall out of the top 16 for next season.[11] In the 2001/02 season Fu's his best result was 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 in two seasons.[13]

The 2002/2003 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 9–7 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, 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, after 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. 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 7–13 to Stephen Lee in his quarter-final match.[19]

In 2003, Fu also won his first title since turning professional in the invitational 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 2003/2004 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 2004/2005 season, ranked 16.[24]

The following season was less consistent, although he qualified for all tournaments except 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 2005/2006 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 run at the 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 16–17. In that match, Fu was 9–15 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. Fu had used Griffiths for a short while some years ago – but did not commit to the necessary changes in technique.[7] This run enable him to stay in the world top 32 for next season, ranked 22.[28]

The 2006/2007 season was not hugely successful. He skipped the UK Championship 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 3–10 to Anthony Hamilton in the first round,[29] a defeat that saw Fu start the 2007/2008 season ranked 27th in the world – a drop of five places. His best result that season was a quarter-final run in the China Open, where he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan.[30]

Marco Fu after winning the 2007 Grand Prix

The 2007/2008 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 Grand Prix — his first ever victory in a ranking event. After defeating the reigning World Champion John Higgins in the first knock-out round 5–4, Liu Song 5–0 in the quarter-finals and Gerard Greene 6–5 in the semi-finals, he faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.[31] After falling 3–4 behind after the first session, he went on to win 9–6, with a break of 76 in the final frame.[32] Previously, Fu's biggest title has only been the invitational 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; and he also reached the semi-finals of the Masters, losing to Stephen Lee.

He qualified for the World Championship, with a 10–3 win over Alan McManus.[33] He played China's Ding Junhui in the first round, and it was an emphatic fight, which he lost 9–10.[34] He capped a successful season by finishing in career high 14 in the rankings, a climb of thirteen places from the previous season.[35] This guaranteed Fu a seeding for the following season, earning him an automatic place at the venue stages of tournaments without having to play qualifying matches.

2008/2009

The 2008/2009 season started with a last 32 loss to Barry Hawkins in the Northern Ireland Trophy and 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 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 Championship runner up, Ali Carter, after a great comeback. At one stage in the match he was trailing 2–5, 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. In the World Championship, he advanced to the second round by beating Joe Swail 10–4 comfortably. He faced Shaun Murphy in the next round, where he lost 3–13.

2009/2010

The 2009/10 season started with a last 16 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan by 2–5 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 East Asian Games, held in Hong Kong. In the singles competition he was beaten by Chinese Yu Delu 4–1 in the quarter-finals.[36] But later won a gold medal in the team competition with Hong Kong.[37] Fu lost his next three first round matches. He lost against Peter Lines 3–9 at the UK Championship,[38] Peter Ebdon 2–6 at the Masters[39] and Andrew Higginson 2–5 at the Welsh Open.[40] Later Fu captured the Championship League by beating Mark Allen 3–2 in the final[41] and reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 China Open, where he lost 1–5 against Mark Williams.[42] At the last ranking event of the season, the World Championship Fu faced Martin Gould at the Crucible. Fu lead 5–4 after the first session, after he missed a straight red for 6–3.[43] Ultimately Fu lost the match 9–10.[44] As a result Fu slid down to 14th in the world rankings.

2010/2011

Marco Fu at the 2011 German Masters

In the 2010/2011 season Fu lost in the first round of the Shanghai Masters 4–5 against Mark Davis[45] and the World Open 1–3 against Andrew Higginson.[46] Fu was ranked 16th in second revision of the rankings. In November 2010, Fu participated in the Asian Games, held in Guangzhou. He won the singles competition by defeating Ding Junhui 4–2 in the final.[47] Fu reached the semi-finals of the Premier League, where he lost 2–5 against Shaun Murphy.[48] Fu reached the second round of the UK Championship, where he lost 2–9 against Stuart Bingham.[49] Fu also participated at the Players Tour Championship, where his best results came at the first and second event in Sheffield, where he reached the semi-finals, but lost 1–4 against Stephen Maguire and 2–4 against Mark Selby respectively.[48] Fu finished 16th on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit.[50]

Fu has reached the final of the Masters, where he lost 4–10 against Ding Junhui, a final noteable for being the first all Asian final.[51] [52]Fu reached the semi-finals of the German Masters, where he lost 3–6 against Mark Williams.[53] In Welsh Open, he lost 0–4 against Mark Williams in last 32, after winning his qualifying match 4–1 against Joe Swail.[54] Fu lost his first round matches at the China Open and World Championship, 3–5 against Judd Trump and 8–10 against Martin Gould respectively.[55][56]

Status and records

Fu is a prolific break-builder.[57] He achieved his highest break of 147 at the 2000 Scottish Masters[7] and has compiled 200 competitive century breaks during his career.[58] 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 Championship held in Telford, England. Fu eventually lost the match 7–9.[59] 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.[60]

Personal life

Fu was educated in Vancouver, Canada and has had spells living in Wales and Scotland, and now stays in London with wife Shirley, who he married in May 2011. He is a supporter of Manchester United and also enjoys the music of Avril Lavigne.[61]

Shirley also comes from Hong Kong. She has completed her Masters at a London University in Supply Chain Logistics.[62]

Career finals

Ranking event finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
World Championship (0–0)
UK Championship (0–1)
Other (1–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1998 Grand Prix England Stephen Lee 2–9
Winner 1. 2007 Grand Prix England Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–6
Runner-up 2. 2008 UK Championship England Shaun Murphy 9–10

Non-ranking tournaments

Amateur tournaments

References

  1. ^ "Marco Fu". Yahoo! UK. 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Official player profile of Marco Fu". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. "Players" section. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Fu Ka-Chun, Marco". Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Billiard Sports Biography – FU Ka Chun Marco". The Official Website of the 16th Asian Games. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Squat Issue 2.5 – Marco Fu Q&A
  6. ^ a b c "Snooker Player Profiles: Marco Fu". Sporting Life. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d Janie Watkins (2005). "Player Profile: Marco Fu". The Global Snooker Centre. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  8. ^ a b "WWW Snooker: Marco Fu (Hong Kong) – Stats from the 1998/99 ranking tournaments". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008. [dead link]
  9. ^ "Marco Fu (Hong Kong): Stats from the 1999/00 ranking tournaments". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008. [dead link]
  10. ^ "2000/2001 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  11. ^ "2001/2002 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  12. ^ "LG Cup 2001". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  13. ^ "2002/2003 Embassy World Rankings". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  14. ^ WWW Snooker: Regal Welsh Open 2003 results
  15. ^ "European Open 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  16. ^ "Regal Scottish Open 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  17. ^ Phil Harlow (23 April 2003). "O'Sullivan stunned by qualifier". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  18. ^ Dan Warren (28 April 2003). "Fu charges into quarters". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  19. ^ Dan Warren (30 April 2003). "Lee brushes past Fu". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  20. ^ Chris Turner (2006). "Premier / Matchroom League". Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  21. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2003/2004". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  22. ^ "LG Cup 2003". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  23. ^ "Welsh Open 2004". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  24. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2004/2005". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  25. ^ "China Open 2005". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  26. ^ "Embassy World Rankings 2005/2006". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  27. ^ "World Snooker – Marco Fu". Sporting Life. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  28. ^ "2005-6 Main Tour Two Year Rankings". globalsnookercentre.co.uk. Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009.
  29. ^ BBC Sport Snooker: Hamilton eases past below-par Fu
  30. ^ "Honghe Industrial China Open 2007". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  31. ^ "2007 Royal London Watches Grand Prix Stage 2". globalsnookercentre.co.uk. Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009.
  32. ^ "BBC Sport: Grand Prix final result". London: BBC Sport. 21 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
  33. ^ World Snooker News – 888.com World Snooker Championship Qualifying – WONDERFUL WENBO
  34. ^ "Ding edges Fu in dramatic finale". London: BBC Sport. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  35. ^ "World Rankings 2008/2009". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  36. ^ "Marco Fu out of East Asian Games". ESPN Star. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  37. ^ "Cue sports – 15-red Snooker Team Men". 2009 East Asian Games. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  38. ^ "Rocket Too Hot For Stevens". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  39. ^ "Ebdon Hits Fu For Six". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  40. ^ "Flying Start For Captain Carter". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  41. ^ "Fu wins the 2010 Championship League". Championship League. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  42. ^ "Main Event (Draw)". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  43. ^ "Fu Edges In Front". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  44. ^ "Gould Glitters". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  45. ^ "Williams Survives Sticky Situation". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  46. ^ "Rocket Too Hot For White". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  47. ^ "2010 Asian Games (Men's Snooker Singles Bracket)". gz2010.cn. The Official Website of the 16th Asian Games. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  48. ^ a b "Marco Fu 2010/2011 Results". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  49. ^ "2010 12BET.com UK Championship". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  50. ^ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  51. ^ "The Masters". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  52. ^ http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~2268031,00.html
  53. ^ "2011 German Masters". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  54. ^ "2011 Welsh Open". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  55. ^ "China Open (2011)". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  56. ^ "Betfred.com World Championship (2011)". WWW Snooker. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  57. ^ John Parrott (2001). "John Parrott's Player Profiles". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  58. ^ "Chris Turner's Snooker Archive: Snooker's Top Century Makers". 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  59. ^ "Selby into semis after epic frame". London: BBC Sport. 13 December 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  60. ^ "Murphy to play China's Ding after longest frame at snooker China Open". China Internet Information Center. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  61. ^ "Players: Marco Fu". World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  62. ^ Yates, Phil (20 December 2008). "Murphy and Fu will fight out the final". The Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2011.


Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marco_Fu&oldid=464849919"