Marco Fu crashes out of qualifying for snooker’s UK Championship despite ‘glimpses of brilliance’
- The 44-year-old shows fight but loses in the third round of qualifying in Sheffield after his Hong Kong Masters heroics
- Another match against John Higgins is next after ‘disappointment’ of missing out on the Barbican in York
After his hometown heroics at the Hong Kong Masters, Marco Fu will miss out on the UK Championship following a disappointment exit in the third round of qualifying.
The 44-year-old beat China’s Bai Langning 6-2 and England’s Oliver Lines 6-4 in the first two qualifying rounds in Sheffield, with a total of five century breaks. But his win streak was ended in a 6-3 defeat by Britain’s Anthony Hamilton on Tuesday.
“Marco showed glimpses of his brilliance again with five centuries,” head coach Wayne Griffiths said. “But he wanted a run to the last 32 in York, so he will be disappointed to bow out at this stage.”
Fu will face the world No 5 in the German Masters qualifiers at Leicester’s Morningside Arena on November 25.
“Marco will know he will need to bring his best as John is one of the most consistent players on tour,” Griffiths added. “Having beaten him in Hong Kong, Marco can draw some confidence, but it will not mean a lot when they line up in Leicester.
“It will be a new match, and a new day, and Marco will be working hard at Ding’s Academy [in Sheffield] to get himself in the best condition to take on this next challenge.”
After a two-year absence, former world No 5 Fu returned to the World Snooker Tour in April. His best ranking tournament result came at the BetVictor European Masters in August, where he was beaten 5-3 by Farakh Ajaib of Pakistan in the second round of the main draw.
Fresh from his fairy tale runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Coliseum in October, Fu flew to the UK last week to continue his professional season.
Fu’s teammate Andy Lee Chun-wai also lost in the third round of UK Championship qualifying in Sheffield, ending Hong Kong’s interest in the tournament.
Lee had beaten Rebecca Kenna 6-3 and Mark Davis 6-4 before falling 6-2 to Thai world No 33 Noppon Saengkham.
The 41-year-old, who earned a tour card through the Q School event this summer, has reached two ranking tournaments this season – the British Open in September, where he lost to China’s Yan Bingtao 4-0 in the first round, and the Northern Ireland Open in October, where he was beaten by Mark Allen 4-3 in the second round.
Lee will also compete in the German Masters qualifiers this month, taking on former world champion Ken Doherty. His fellow Hongkonger Ng On-yee, who lost in the second round of the UK Championship qualifiers, will face Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif.
Ng is set for a busy second half of November. S will compete as the defending champion in the Eden Women’s Masters over November 26-27 at Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon, London.
