Marco Fu delights Hong Kong Masters crowd with 147 break to beat John Higgins

Marco Fu created one of the greatest moments of his brilliant career as he made a 147 in the deciding frame of a 6-5 win over John Higgins in the semi-final of the Hong Kong Masters.

In front of an enormous crowd at the Hong Kong Coliseum, the local hero produced the maximum break to get his home fans on their feet and respond with a huge reception.

The 44-year-old had never been ahead in the match against the four-time world champion but made a break of 72 to force a decider before making the immense maximum to book a place in Sunday’s final where he will meet either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Neil Robertson.

It is the fifth 147 of Fu’s career and his first since 2015. His third maximum came at the Masters, but this one being made in front of his home crowd and after feeling that his career was coming to an end in recent years, this will be even more special.

‘It’s amazing. I still can’t believe what just happened there,’ Fu told WST. ‘The way I’ve been playing over the last two or three months, the calibre of the field in this tournament and the atmosphere of the venue, it’s impossible to do something like that!

‘I’m just happy I’m able to play pretty decent and compete against the best players in the world. Beating Mark Selby and John Higgins, you can’t get any better than that.

‘Making a 147 is a bonus, even if I didn’t make a 147 today, beating John would be amazing. This is the icing on the cake.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Marco Fu reaches the Hong Kong Masters 2022 final with a MAXIMUM in the decider! ð­ð° Listen to that roar! 𤯠ðº @Eurosport | @discoveryplus | #HKMasters pic.twitter.com/7EQsIfHlH6

‘It’s funny because I’ve made a few 147s in the past and this is one of the calmest I’ve felt all the way through.