Hong Kong's Marco Fu has advanced to the Second Round of the World Snooker Championships, after a 10-9 win over Belgium's Luca Brecel at The Crucible.
Last year's semi-finalist trailed 7-1 and 9-8 in the match, before winning a final-frame decider, the first of the tournament.
Fu trailed 7-2 at the end of the opening session on Saturday, before the comeback truly began in Monday's evening session. The Scottish Open winner won two of the second session's first three frames to cut the gap to 8-4, before winning four-in-a-row to level the match at 8-8.
Brecel, competing at The Crucible for the first time since 2012, regained the lead in the 17th frame, but Fu won the final two frames to complete an improbable comeback.
"I just couldn't believe it."
💬 @MarcoFu18 reacts to his incredible comeback from 7-1 down to beat Brecel 10-9 #ilovesnooker @Betfred pic.twitter.com/TdzTXDV5n0
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker1) April 17, 2017
"I didn't really expect to come back", Fu admitted after the match. "Your're thinking of heading home. You probably win one in ten from 7-1".
He now faces either Neil Robertson or debutant Noppon Saengkham in the second round. That match will begin on Sunday.
.@MarcoFu18 produces one of the great comebacks to clinch a 10-9 win over Luca Brecel! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/OhWozDYhGV
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) April 17, 2017
On Monday, there were also wins for Northern Ireland's Mark Allen and former World Champions Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy. Allen defeated Jimmy Robertson 10-8 to book a Second Round clash with either John Higgins or Martin Gould.
