Seven weeks after Marco Fu Ka-chun produced a sensational maximum break to beat John Higgins in the Hong Kong Masters, the two will meet again in the German Masters qualifiers on Friday.
Their match is a repeat of the epic semi-final last month at the Hong Kong Coliseum, when Fu fought back from the brink of defeat to beat the Scot with a 147 in the deciding frame.
That break and Fu’s run to the final, where he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan, were the highlight of an event that drew a world-record snooker audience and also shone the spotlight on Ng On-yee, Fu’s fellow Hongkonger. Ng, too, is back in action in the UK this week, as she defends her Eden Women’s Masters title.
But Fu, 44, is first up, in Leicester on Friday, as he looks to continue to re-establish himself among the sport’s elite against four-time world champion Higgins.
Those headline-grabbing exploits in his hometown augur well, according to Hong Kong head coach Wayne Griffiths.
“From his performance in the Hong Kong Masters and five centuries in two matches in the UK Championship, we can see that the skills are still there,” Griffiths said.
“The next step for Marco is seeking consistency, and he is working very hard with us in Sheffield. He has the game to beat anyone on tour on his day, and getting more of these days is the objective now and for the rest of the season.”
The Hongkonger has won his past four meetings with Higgins since 2014, including the 2016 Scottish Open final, in which he claimed his third ranking title.
Former world No 5 Fu returned to the World Snooker Tour in April after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. He has yet to progress far in a ranking event, with his best showing coming in August’s European Masters, when he was knocked out in the second round.
Ng is already out of the German Masters after losing 5-2 to Pakistani veteran Muhammad Asif, but has the Eden Women’s Masters in Brighton to focus on from Sunday.
The 32-year-old is the top seed, with current world champion Mink Nutcharut and 12-time world champion Reanne Evans seeded second and third respectively in a field of 49 players from 15 countries – the largest ever for a women’s ranking event outside the World Championships.
Three-time world champion Ng beat Evans 4-3 in last year’s thrilling final, storming back from 3-1 down. The world No 2 is on track to reclaim the top ranking from Evans this season, according to Griffiths.
“She is working as hard as Marco, and I think both of their efforts will pay off,” he said. “On-yee goes to Eden as one of the favourites. She is seeking out tough practice here in the UK. She never turns down a challenge and takes improving as her main goal.”
Ng, who was last year granted a two-year World Snooker Tour card, has defeated three men’s players in pro-tour qualifiers this year: Wu Yize in the Welsh Open, Ken Doherty in the British Open and Jenson Kendrick in this month’s UK Championship.
She also won the Winchester Women’s Open and reached the final of the UK Championship on the women’s tour.
In Brighton, Ng is joined by Hong Kong’s Ho Yee-ki, So Man-yan and Jaique Ip Wan-in. They begin in Saturday’s group play, before the top five join the fray in Sunday’s last 16.