Betfred.com World Snooker Championship 2011 – Marco Fu versus Martin Gould
Marco Fu and Martin Gould will clash once again in the last-32 of this year’s Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, which is going to be staged from 16 April– 3 May at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England.
It might be a mouth-watering repeat of their last year’s Crucible clash where Gould registered a 10-9 win over Fu in the last-32, after a fully stretched battle. However, this year things can be different, as Fu is in a much better form than
last year. Moreover, since their Crucible clash in 2010, Fu has also defeated Gould a couple of times this season in various tournaments. He defeated Gould at the PTC4 event at Sheffield by a frame score of 4-1 in the start of this season before dominating
him again by a frame score of 3-0 in the Group 7 of the Championship League. To cut the story short, the Hong Kong Fuey leads the Pinner Potter 2-1.
The world number sixteen, Fu, also has much more experience than Gould. Fu has played ten times at the Crucible Theatre, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. This is going to be his eleventh appearance, although his
best performance at the Crucible Theatre came in 2006 world championship, where he lost by a humble frame score of 17-16 to Peter Ebdon in the semi-final.
On the other hand, the world number twenty-six, Gould, has only appeared two times before at the Crucible Theatre, in 2009 and 2010. This is going to be his third successive appearance.
After discussing all the facts it’s still hard to say who will be the winner. However, it can be said that Fu stands at a better chance, apart from his two wins over Gould and his consistent performance during the season. He earned himself a
place in the PTC Grand Finals for displaying consistent performances on various occasions including the Masters Champion, German Masters and also in some of the earlier PTC events. So it’s fair to say that his fans will be hoping that he provides them with
a good show this year.
Meanwhile the 29-year-old, Gould, on the same note cannot be underestimated. He too has had a positive season and is looking to be amongst the top 16 players. He might demonstrate extra confidence, as this season he made it through to his first
ranking event’s final. Another plus point, which he has, is that he will not be having any pressure, as he defeated Fu in their previous encounter.
The other fact, which favours Gould, is that Fu has lost seven times in the last-32 before, so he will be under pressure for this reason as well. If Gould overcomes Fu in the safety department than he really has a chance because his potting percentage
is far better.
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