Snooker drama gives Hong Kong a break from Covid
- World record attendance at Masters reflects how much Hong Kong has missed its top-level sport over the past three years
The successful staging of the Hong Kong Masters snooker tournament last weekend marked a welcome return to the city for international sport. It was the first major sports event to be hosted in Hong Kong since the pandemic began.
Fans were treated to a thrilling contest, with the highlight a maximum 147 break from local hero Marco Fu Ka-chun. The achievement, which saw Fu secure a place in the final, literally had the crowd on its feet.
The tournament, last held in 2017, set a world record for attendance at a snooker competition, with more than 8,000 watching Fu’s defeat in the final to world No 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan. Hong Kong fans have a reputation for being crazy about snooker, but this tournament was special after almost three years in which the city has been starved of top-level sport.
High-profile sports events have been cancelled recently amid Covid-19 concerns, so there was much at stake for the snooker tournament. It got off to an anxious start when China’s Zhao Xintong tested positive and had to pull out.