Sensational start leaves Fu well placed in Group Four - 20/01/2010

LATEST SCORES (FIRST TO 3): FINAL MARCO FU 3-0 NEIL ROBERTSON

MARCO Fu is well placed in Group Four of the Championship League Snooker after a sensational start to the day's play.

Marco Fu is hoping to return to the Premier League

Hong Kong's Fu won his first two matches 3-0 as he whitewashed Group Three runner-up Mark Allen with breaks of 86, 133 and 120 before claiming a 3-0 victory over Ali Carter with further breaks of 144, 82 and 103. However, a 3-2 defeat against Neil Robertson in Fu's third match of the day meant the Australian ended day one on top of the table, although he has played one match more than Fu.

There has never been a maximum 147 break in the three-year history of the Championship League. Peter Ebdon was on course to become the first man to achieve this but faltered in his match with Neil Robertson after scoring 96 with 13 reds and 13 blacks. At the opposite end of the table, Ali Carter looks doomed to depart the competition with no wins from his four matches.

Played at Crondon Park Golf Club in rural Essex, Championship League Snooker is produced exclusively for live streaming on internet betting sites throughout the world. Players earn £100 per frame won and the top four players after the remainder of the group matches tomorrow then play in best of five semi-finals.

The money increases to £300 per frame won and the winner receives £3,000, the runner-up £2,000 and the beaten semi-finalists £1,000 each.

The winner then goes through to the final group on March 24th & 25th where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs. The two bottom players are eliminated from the competition, while the remaining four move forward to Group Two to be joined by three new players.

Already through to the final group are Scotsmen Stephen Maguire and John Higgins who won through on Groups One and Two respectively. They were joined on Wednesday by defending champ Judd Trump.

Results
Mark Allen 0-3 Marco Fu, Ali Carter 1-3 Neil Robertson, Peter Ebdon 1-3 Mark Williams, Mark Allen 3-1 Liang Wenbo, Ali Carter 0-3 Marco Fu, Neil Robertson 0-3 Peter Ebdon, Mark Williams 0-3 Liang Wenbo, Ali Carter 2-3 Mark Allen, Marco Fu 2-3 Neil Robertson, Peter Ebdon 3-1 Liang Wenbo, Mark Williams 1-3 Neil Robertson, Ali Carter 2-3 Liang Wenbo