Ding Junhui secured his first Masters title with a 10-4 victory over Marco Fu in a historic all-Asian final.
China’s Ding started brilliantly with breaks of 120 and 74 and extended his lead to 6-2, with Fu’s best break 80.
Hong Kong’s Fu sparkled in the evening to pull back two frames but then lost an agonising 11th, when Ding laid a miraculous snooker, to trail 7-4.
Fu was left shell-shocked as Ding rattled in 94, 83 and 85 to win and make up for his 2007 runner-up spot.
It was revenge for the Chinese 23-year-old after losing 10-9 to Fu in the first round at the 2008 world championships and more recently at last November’s Asian Games in Guangzhou.
The last time Ding was in a Masters final was an emotional 10-3 demolition by Ronnie O’Sullivan four years ago and he did his best to banish those memories by flying out of the blocks in front of a noisy Wembley crowd on Sunday.
There were no sign of nerves, considering the reported 100 million people watching in China, with the man who made his Masters debut in 2004 with a wildcard entry as a teenager storming ahead thanks to knocks of 120 and 74 to open up a two-frame advantage.
But Fu, who bounced back from trailing 4-1 to beat Mark Allen in the semi-finals, clawed his way back with an 80 and had chances in an enthralling fourth frame, before losing his way on the brown as a relieved Ding secured a 3-1 lead.
Sloppy errors started to creep their way into the game and it was Ding who edged ahead 4-1, while Fu hung on with a nerveless run of 82 with the aid of a fluked blue.
The high standard of potting in the opening four frames slipped away and with Fu wasting more chances to get back into the encounter, Ding surged ahead to 6-2 to leave himself going into the evening session needing four frames for victory.
But all those expecting this to be a routine triumph for the player hunting his fifth major title were shaken to the core after the interval as Fu, a Masters semi-finalist in 2008, roared back to reduce the deficit by two frames with a top knock of 69.
Fu will be kicking himself though after throwing away the 11th frame to waste a glorious opportunity to get within one at 6-5. Instead it was 7-4.
The 33-year-old opened up with a 39, only to see his opponent hit back, but then had Ding in all sorts of trouble with a snooker behind the yellow.
Five attempts later, Fu led by two points and had the frame in his grasp and amazingly soon found himself snookered behind the pink after a sensational safety shot from Ding.
The cueball flew in and with Fu squirming in his chair, Ding stayed calm to steal it.
Fu looked stunned and he had to stay rooted in his throne as Ding knocked in a 94, 83 and 85 to claim his third successive frame and secure his Masters crown to become only the third overseas player to do so.
Having been the youngest player to perform at this tournament in 2004, Ding will revel in being Masters champion, but his conquered adversary can also reflect proudly on a stunning effort this week as China’s passionate fans back home cheered on their two superstars.
[via BBC Snooker]
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