As the popular ranking event got off in Berlin on Monday, Marco Fu defeated Mark Selby 5-1 to go to the round of 64 in the German Masters.
Fu, a 2013 finalist, led the Tempodrom 4-0 to the mid-session break after winning the opening four frames.
In a quick comeback, Selby—the world no. 5—won the fifth frame to extend the qualifying match a little bit.
But in an attempt to resurrect his professional career, Fu’s 98-point break in the sixth frame guaranteed him a spot in the following round.
The 46-year-old, who hasn’t been past the final eight of a ranking tournament since 2020, is participating this term with an invitational tour card and hopes to contend for trophies once again.
The three-time ranking event champion Marco Fu said the World Snooker Tour, “I felt pretty good coming into this match.”
However, Mark didn’t really start today. I was getting away with missing shots and fluking a few balls, and I was experiencing a lot of lucky breaks.
“I was up 4-0 immediately, but Mark didn’t really get going until after the break.
To be honest, I didn’t think I played all that well. However, there are moments when the balls simply keep going for you the entire game.
“I need to give some credit to my shots, but you need to take advantage of the lucky ones. Any win over Mark is a great win.”
There are currently seven tables inside the Tempodrom due to the larger field at the German Masters location this year.
Fu was unaffected by the unusual arrangement, which had six tables encircling the primary TV in the middle of the stadium.
“I thought that was quite funny. Naturally, I have to focus on the shot when I’m playing it.
However, it’s not too awful for me to occasionally look about and watch other players play while I’m seated in a chair.
I get a small amount of amusement in observing other matches. I couldn’t really focus because of that. When it was my time at the table, I paid close attention.
“I’ve been performing really well generally this season. There were occasionally a few close losses, such as 4-3 or 5-4 for the black or pink.
Certain defeats are difficult to accept. However, I believe that altogether, I’m pleased with my performance in terms of standards.
“Hopefully this week will be a nice run for me. I enjoy playing in Berlin, and this event is amazing.
Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy also crashed out on the first day in Berlin, adding to the many other upsets.
Brecel’s awful world champion campaign came to an end as he lost to tour rookie Ishpreet Singh Chadha 5-2 despite being outplayed.
outperformed by Ishpreet Singh Chadha, a rookie on the circuit, in a 5-2 loss.
Murphy, meanwhile, gave up a 3-0 lead and lost 5-3 to Xu Si, who scored an incredible 131 in the penultimate over.
But the other eight-place players whose round-of-twelve matches were postponed were able to advance without any problems.
In thrilling nine-frame matches, reigning champion Ali Carter and world number three Mark Allen defeated Michael White and Manasawin Phetmalaikul, respectively.
t was more straightforward for Judd Trump and Neil Robertson, with Trump thrashing home favourite Lukas Kleckers 5-0 and Robertson producing one of his best displays of the campaign to beat Sanderson Lam.
Among those who have already reached the last 32 are Graeme Dott, Matthew Selt, Joe O’Connor, Sam Craigie, and Jamie Clarke.
A solid victory for Marco Fu, who has struggled to string victories together this season while acting as a wildcard. With any luck, this outcome will provide him more energy for matchplay. Even with a more advantageous qualification method, quite a few well-known stars won’t be competing in Germany once more. Despite all of that, the current world champion is experiencing a season similar to Marco Fu’s: most players step up to compete against him, and his game is lacking.Shaun Murphy won’t have too many accountancy issues waiting weeks for his pay from this tournament. Al
