Hong Kong’s finest, and one of my personal favourite players to watch, Marco Fu is one of those players that will probably fly under most people’s radars. He may not have the character of other players but he is one of the classiest players on the tour. Combined with his skill on the table, makes him an incredible player to watch.
Born in Hong Kong, but raised in Canada, Fu had a fair amount of success with Under-21 tournaments. He turned professional in 1998 and since has claimed 3 ranking titles, most notably the Scottish Open in 2016 where he overturned a 4-1 deficit against favourite, John Higgins to win 9-4.
Since turning professional, Fu’s performance for the next decade or so has been fluctuating, along with his rankings. His first ranking title came in 2007 when he won the Grand Prix against Ronnie O’Sullivan. It wouldn’t be for 6 years until Fu won his second ranking event – this would be against favourite Neil Robertson at the Australian Open.
Fu has gotten close on quite a few occasions. He’s won a couple of non-ranking events throughout his career such as the Premier League and Gibraltar Open. However, when it comes to Triple Crown the furthest he has made it is the Masters final in 2011 and the incredible semi-final effort in WSC 2016 against Mark Selby,
Fu’s stellar performance in the 2016/17 season included a final in the Players Championship, a nail-biting semi-final in the Masters as well as the Grand Prix and of course, the Scottish Open victory which saw him finish at his highest ranking position at No. 6.
Despite a relatively small list of ranking titles to his name, Fu isn’t a player who should go unnoticed. Top level players like O’Sullivan and Higgins will be the first to tell you how good Fu’s game is and how much of a threat he is to play in events. Most probably wouldn’t even know that Fu is up there with almost 500 career centuries and 4 maximum breaks to his name. Not to mention, he can scrap with the best in the tactical game.
Although the past couple of seasons have been difficult for Fu due to his laser eye surgery and the impact that has had on his game, I am hoping he can bounce back to his previous form and be back to contesting with the top once again. If there’s one thing I can say about Fu, it’s that he does not shy away from taking down the bigger players. And he has.
Fun fact; When Marco Fu turned pro, he was ranked No. 377 in the world.