Fu fights back to defeat defending champion Murphy - 30/09/2010

DEFENDING PartyCasino.com Premier League Snooker Champion Shaun Murphy threw away a 2-1 lead to lose 4-2 against Hong Kong's Marco Fu.

Fu won the last three frames of the night, although Murphy would be left kicking himself after failing to sink a point-winning pink in the last.

Marco Fu. Picture: Lawrence Lustig

"I'm really happy," said Fu, who has won one and drawn one of his first two matches.

"I won the first frame but Shaun played really well after that and looked like he was going to win 4-2 or 5-1. He was a bit unlucky and I managed to steal a few frames.

"Anything can happen in this game and it's difficult to predict what's going to happen. When Shaun missed the pink I felt I could clean up and I felt comfortable as I already had a point on the board."

The first match at Preston was between the Premier League Champion and the Championship League winner.

Murphy, the 2009 Premier League winner, started his campaign with a 5-1 success over Ding Junhui, while Fu, who claimed his place in this competition by winning the Championship League, began with a 3-3 draw against Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Murphy had the first chance when he made 55 but then lost position as he ended up the wrong side of the blue and the break was soon over. That gave Fu a chance and he took it with a fine red into the middle pocket before scoring 76 to take the lead.

But Fu's advantage did not last long as scores of 32 and 33 helped Murphy win the second frame.

Murphy made six in the opening stages of the third but had no luck when coming into the pack as there was no shot on the black ball. But a loose safety from Fu, that left the cue ball off the intended cushion, saw Murphy back in action and his break of 77 was enough to win the frame.

The fourth frame was an epic and both had chances to win it. Murphy rattled in 48 but he underhit a positional shot to get on the pink and had to play safe. Fu potted his first ball for 31 minutes and scored 40 before a missed red rolled down the cushion set up a safety exchange.

Murphy, trying a four-cushion escape to hit the last red, got it completely wrong and then left it off with his second attempt. However, he had another chance when Fu's swerve shot to hit the yellow was inaccurate but Murphy's miss with the rest on the green brought Fu back to the table and he tied it at 2-2.

Fu, who had been 2-1 behind, moved 3-2 ahead with a well-constructed score of 67 in the fifth frame.

Murphy had a golden opportunity to claim a point after Fu overcut a black in the early stages of the final frame. Murphy was in pole position and had scored 55 but missed a frame-winning pink ball to give Fu a final chance. The man from Hong Kong took it with a 43 clearance to steal the frame by two points and win the match 4-2.

Best of six frames
Shaun Murphy 2-4 Marco Fu
Murphy's scores first
55-76 (Murphy 55, Fu 76), 84-0 (Murphy 32, 33), 83-0 (Murphy 77), 54-68 (Murphy 48, Fu 40), 1-72 (Fu 67), 55-60 (Murphy 55, Fu 43)