Marco Fu makes sublime 147 in deciding frame to stun John Higgins in semi-final thriller at Hong Kong Masters

The home favourite staged a terrific fightback from 4-2 and 5-4 to send a thrilling match the distance before delighting the partisan crowd with a perfect total clearance to oust the four-time world champion.

Fu’s playing time has been limited in recent seasons after having surgery to fix the vision in his left eye – a procedure that left him fearing for his snooker career – and Covid restrictions.

But roared on by a legion of fans, Fu made Higgins his second victim in the Coliseum after his victory over Mark Selby on Thursday.

He will now play Ronnie O’Sullivan or Neil Robertson for the title.

For so long, it looked like it would be Higgins in that showdown on Sunday. The Scot swept in a century to take the opening frame after Fu had missed a simple black – and when the local icon missed another in the second, a speedy defeat looked on the cards.

Instead, Higgins botched a red and allowed Fu to steal back in, with a break of 75 levelling the scores.

Higgins was undeterred, however, and knocks of 68 and 83 saw him open up a two-frame lead heading into the interval.

Fu needed a quick response and when he sunk a brilliant long-range pressure red, the confidence started to return. A smart contribution of 61 hauled him back within one frame of Higgins, only to see his rival establish daylight again with a break of 91 in the next.

At 4-2 down, Fu wriggled home a red – the pockets continuing to play kind as they have all week – and a superb clearance of 70 saw him peg Higgins back once more.

Fu gifted Higgins a chance to open up a 5-3 lead in the next frame when he left a simple red hanging over the pocket, a miss branded “one of the worst I’ve seen this week” by Neal Foulds on Eurosport commentary.

But in an incredibly scrappy frame, Fu was allowed multiple trips back to the table before a smart snooker ultimately paved the way for him to restore parity.

A three-frame match soon became a one-frame shootout as the pair traded the next two for 5-5, Higgins making another 105 break before Fu hit back with a 72.

And so it came to the decider, which will go down as one of the greatest moments in Fu’s career.

After potting match ball, thoughts turned to the maximum – but with the final red tucked on the right cushion, it looked like he would be cruelly denied.

Instead, he smartly dropped the cue ball in behind and rolled the 15th red home before dispatching the colours with aplomb to secure a fifth career maximum and spark delirium in the stands.

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