Marco Fu has been given another two-year invitational tour card to compete on the World Snooker Tour, after dropping off the professional circuit at the end of last seaon.
The 45-year-old has had a difficult few years dating back to laser eye surgery in 2018 which was not as successful as hooped and left him with ‘floaters’ in his vision, which he is still dealing with.
The three-time ranking event winner then stayed in Hong Kong throughout the height of the pandemic, not playing at all in the 2020/21 season and just one match the following campaign.
He was a regular back on tour last season but did not do enough to keep his card and faced going to Q School to bounce back, but World Snooker Tour have stepped in, handing him a spot for the next two years.
‘I am very grateful to be offered this opportunity by World Snooker Tour,’ said Fu. ‘I’ve spent 25 years on the circuit, but the last few have been really challenging. To be given this chance to continue and represent Hong Kong and China for another two years makes me extremely proud.
‘I will be working as hard as ever to prove I am a player who can still perform and represent our sport at the highest level. I am very happy and excited.
‘I had my eye surgery in 2018 and then Covid, which as an overseas player was really challenging. If I stayed in the UK I would have been away from my family for a year. It was a time everybody wants to forget. Now everything is back to normal and my future is in my hands. All I can do is just work as hard as possible. Hopefully I can do myself proud.’
Fu struggled in ranking events over the last season, winning just six matches, but did show what he can still do at the Hong Kong Masters where he beat Mark Selby and John Higgins to reach the final, knocking in a 147 against the Wizard in the semis.
He fell short against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final in front of a world record snooker crowd of 9,000, but it was a memorable week in front of his adoring fans.
A former UK Championship and Masters finalist, the veteran still has the desire to succeed, but admits he has work to do to fulfil his remaining ambitions, which are to return to somewhere like he used to be.
‘My target is very obvious,’ he said. ‘I would love to finish in the top 64 after two years and qualify for the Crucible again. I haven’t been there for a long time now. I will try my very best to achieve those things.
‘I think with my eye problem and Covid, my standard has definitely dropped from five years ago. The love of the game is still there. I still look forward to practising every day. I love taking my cue into a snooker club. As long as I feel that I will keep on playing.
‘Hopefully I will get back to the standard where I can compete as I did five years ago. That is the standard I want to achieve. I will do my very best.’
Fu is the only player to be handed a new invitational tour card for the next season as yet, with Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry going into the second year of their cards they were awarded in 2022.
Jimmy White has been playing on invitational tour cards in recent years but hit excellent form over the last campaign and qualified by right off the one-year list for the coming season.
There are 12 tour cards to be won at the upcoming Q School events, with eight on the line over the two events in the UK (26-31 May and 1-6 June) and four more cards up for grabs at the two Asian tournaments (1-5 and 9-14 June).
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