Preview: East v East
Global-snooker.com previews the final of the 2011 Ladbrokes Mobile Masters as East takes on East. A TV audience anticipated to easily eceed 100 million people across China and Hong Kong will be tuned in as their dream clash between Ding Junhui and Marco Fu will add a new name to one of snooker's most famous trophies.
In November, the pair faced each other with National Pride on the line rather than ranking points and prize money. Fu took gold as he beat his younger opponent by four-frames-to-two.
Marco Fu
Fu is a class act. A world under-21 and IBSF champion in 1997 put Fu on the map, and when he reached the final of the Grand Prix a year later in his first year as a professional, he looked certain to become a major force at the top of the game.
Although he never reached the levels of dominance which his early promise might have suggested, Fu has been at the top end of the game since.
He has just one ranking event title to his name (2008 Grand Prix), but has contested in a final of the UK Championship and reached the semi-final at the Crucible. Victory in the Premier League in 2003 and the Championship League prove that he has the game to compete with the best.
Possibly under-rated and certainly forced to play second fiddle since the emergence of Ding as Asia’s great hope.
His playing style is probably ‘pigeon-holed’ as a solid all-round game. However, a stealth-like ability to sustain long periods of heavy scoring makes him one of the most prolific break builders in the game.
Fu regularly makes two and three century breaks in as many frames, which he proved in yesterday's semi-final. That is a quality that is very intimidating for an opponent, who can be pinned to their chair and unable to find a response.
Ding Junhui
Ding is undoubtedly one of snooker’s best players. He regularly features in the latter part of the sport’s major events. He has lifted a couple of UK Championship titles and also won in China and Northern Ireland.
The expectations of the world’s biggest nation may have helped or hindered his progress.
Like Fu, he won the world under-21 title and remarkably, he is still only 23. It seems that Ding has been around for years, mainly because he has.
He won the China Open in 2005 and quickly became a hero for millions in his home country.
His career was derailed at Wembley in 2007, after reaching the final in only his third Masters.
Ding had beaten Anthony Hamilton, Stephen Lee, Peter Ebdon and Stephen Hendry to reach the final where he would face an in-form Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Rocket was unforgiving and punished every hint of a mistake that his 2-year-old opponent made. The score-line, for once told the real story. O’Sullivan was the ‘master’ and despite his best efforts to console the ‘apprentice’, China’s great hope had been damaged.
When the draw for the world championship was done a few months later, almost inevitably the two were paired together in the first round. This time, the youngster looked rocked from the start and O’Sullivan was ruthless and sealed a 10-2 win.
It took Ding two seasons to recover, but recover he did and came back stronger than ever. He lost to Neil Robertson in the first all non-UK ranking final at the 2009 Grand Prix and followed by winning his second UK Championship a month later. He reached the final of the China Open last season and will be keen to remove the memories of his last Wembley final.
With nine century breaks between them on the way to the final, Ding (4) and Fu (5) it is hard to split the two. One thing is for sure, there will be more than just prize money at stake for these two, with the all of Asia’s eyes focussed on 72 square feet of green baize at Wembley’s Arena.
