Hong Kong Masters 2022 LIVE updates – Mark Selby in early action before Judd Trump v John Higgins

SELBY 1-2 FU (8-41)

Close! Fu thinks he’s on course to re-stablish the two-frame lead but he comes up short despite a fine break of 41.

SELBY 1-2 FU (8-0)

Frustration for Mark. He recovers some early issues with positioning with a fine pot but then finds himself struggling to arch his cueing over a red attempting to roll the black to the bottom left. He can’t quite slot it home and Fu gets a chance he probably wasn’t expecting.

SELBY 1-2 FU

Selby produces an expert snooker with the cue ball tucked behind the black. It earns a tap of the table from Fu who then takes four attempts to hit the remaining red. Selby takes full advantage and mops up the colours to the pink to get on the board.

How significant could that be? Fu looked on for a 3-0 lead there but Selby is right back in business now.

SELBY 0-2 FU (25-49)

Selby takes advantage of Fu’s miss with a simple red near the edge of the bottom right pocket but can only make slight inroads on his opponent’s lead with a short break of nine.

SELBY 0-2 FU (16-49)

Fu steps in and looks set for a 3-0 lead but somehow manages to lose position on a routine black to the bottom left. He squints and sizes it up but decides he can’t get past a nearby red and is forced to end a break on 45.

SELBY 0-2 FU (16-4)

A stonking red to the bottom left pocket suggests Selby could be in business but his luck is completely out when he screws back off a pot to the bottom right and sees the cue ball drop into the middle left.

SELBY 0-2 FU

A period of scrappy play ends with Fu punishing Selby for that big miss on the black. The Hong Kong star nicks the frame with a clearance of 65.

SELBY 0-1 FU (44-1)

Selby is quickly back to the table but inexplicably misses a black to the bottom right when he looked all set to finish the job at this visit.

SELBY 0-1 FU (31-1)

Selby spins the cue ball into the pack and hopes for a favourable spread. It doesn’t quite deliver what he wants but he does put away a red to the bottom right pocket with the rest. From there he works his way to a decent break of 31 but can’t quite do enough to deny Fu a chance to hit back.

SELBY 0-1 FU (0-1)

Fu opens again but can’t roll a blue to the bottom left and Selby belatedly gets a decent chance to get himself up and running.

SELBY 0-1 FU

Fu makes it third time lucky! He tucks in an excellent black but has no luck with the roll of cue ball. However, a super red with the rest to the bottom left pocket keeps him at the table and he finally seals the opening frame with a break of 52.

SELBY 0-0 FU (0-51)

Fu corks a red to the yellow pocket and works his way down to the right for a tight red to the bottom pocket. It helps him find some good position around the pack of reds and he duly adds to his lead without being able to complete a frame-winning break.

SELBY 0-0 FU (0-29)

Fu rolls in a red to the bottom left and quickly sets about building a tidy opening break. The home favourite begins to run out of position when he drifts towards baulk while preying upon the blue and he eventually has to opt for a safety.

GOOD MORNING!

Hello and welcome to our LIVE updates of the first match of the 2022 Hong Kong Masters. It’s a tournament that sees the top six-ranked players in the world join two home-grown players in an eight-person tussle for glory.

First up, it’s Mark Selby against Marco Fu.

Context

The Hong Kong Masters will return for the first time in five years this month, with Ronnie O’Sullivan preparing to face local icon and three-time women’s world champion Ng On Yee in his opening match.

The tournament, which hasn’t been staged since 2017, will be held at the Hong Kong Coliseum venue over four days, beginning on Thursday, October 6, with eight players competing for the £100,000 first prize.

The non-ranking event is organised by Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council and is set to be the first major sports event staged by the Asian city since the pandemic in 2020.

Should O’Sullivan advance, he will meet Masters holder Neil Robertson – who he lost to in the 2017 final – or UK champion Zhao Xintong in the last four on Saturday, October 8.

Four-time world champion Mark Selby meets former Scottish Open winner Marco Fu in the tournament opener on Thursday, October 6.

The remaining quarter-final is contested between 2019 world finalists Judd Trump and John Higgins.

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