Ronnie O’Sullivan wins Hong Kong Masters 2022

Ronnie O’Sullivan has won his first Hong Kong Masters title, beating Marco Fu 6-4 to secure the victory.

It shaped up to be an exciting clash – the national hero making a triumphant return to snooker after a period of injury, against the greatest player in the game and a very popular figure in Hong Kong. The fans loved it, and both players expressed their own enjoyment after the match was over.

The event was a record-breaking one, as the crowd of 9,000 set a record for the largest event at a live snooker event.

Fu looked in fine form throughout the tournament, which is part of his comeback after the Covid pandemic and a two-year absence after eye surgery in 2017 – in order to secure his place in the final, he won a decider against John Higgins with a 147 break in the deciding frame of the semi-final.

But it was O’Sullivan who drew first blood, taking the opening frame without conceding a single point – Fu had a chance, but didn’t take it. He swiftly levelled the match, however, making a 55 on his way to putting his first frame on the board. O’Sullivan then got going, producing breaks of 71 and 59 on the way to establishing a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.

When play resumed, Fu had a chance, but he missed a plant, giving his opponent a chance to extend his lead to three. He didn’t make the same mistake in frame six, with a break of 98 making it 4-2. He had momentum, but he failed to build on it – Fu missed a cut red, and O’Sullivan punished him, making a 105 break to move a frame from victory.

He is too good of a player not to win tournaments

– Ronnie O’Sullivan

It all looked to be over in the eighth frame, with O’Sullivan building a good break after a cage start. But he missed a pink to the yellow pocket, and Fu returned to the table, producing a clearance of 35 to steal the frame. The fightback continued, and a 56 break soon made the score line 5-4.

O’Sullivan regrouped, and given a chance in the tenth frame, he put the match to bed, demonstrating some superb snooker to make a fantastic century of 114 and win the match 6-4.

After the match, O’Sullivan said: “It feels fantastic. First of all, I want to say, this is the best tournament I have probably ever played in. I’ve never played in front of more than 3,000 fans, and that was at the Queen Elizabeth.

“To have 9,000 fans watching a snooker match [is] unheard of. So hopefully we can come back year [after] year, because the fans have been fantastic. It has probably been the best week as a snooker player to play snooker. So I just want to thank everyone for making this such a special tournament.

“It’s been a hard three years for everybody. For us to be able to play snooker in Hong Kong, and for the Hong Kong people to come and be able to watch live sport again, I think we are the first sport to do that, is just great. I have to thank the Hong Kong Snooker Association for making this happen.”

The seven-time world champion was also full of praise for his opponent: “We’re like a family on tour. We play every week, we see each other all the time. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but to play Marco in front of the Hong Kong fans is like a dream. Marco is the number one Hong Kong player ever and to have that chance to play him in his home tournament is a fantastic experience for me.

“So happy to see Marco back. He was off the tour for a couple of years. His health is good, and you could just see the class is always there. So it’s great to see him back. Great to see him play fantastic snooker, and I’m sure he’ll be winning some tournaments very soon.

“He is too good of a player not to win tournaments.”