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| Marco Fu |
LOCAL snooker fans are now counting the final days before the kick-off of the China Open 2002 in February in the city.
Running from February 24 through March 3 at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Centre, the event will feature Mark Williams from Wales, currently the Embassy World Snooker rankings' No. 1 pick.
With prize money totalling 450,300 pounds and a total of 36 participants, the event will also attract mega stars like Scottish John Higgins, present runner-up on the ranking, and Stephen Hendry, also from Scotland, who dominated snooker in the 1990s.
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan from England is expecting to retain his China Open title for the third time. The Englishman completed a 9-3 victory over Mark Williams at Shenzhen in 2000 to defend his reputation at the World Snooker Association ranking occasion.
Hoping to recover from a series of depressing performances over the last two seasons, Marco Fu from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will combat Marcus Campbell in a qualifying match.
Fu is currently ranked No. 17 while his opponent has remained at No. 41.
Together with Cai Jianzhong, Ding Junhui, a 14-year-old rising Chinese star, will enter the game as a wildcard entrant and hopefully stage an eye-catching performance, organizers said.
Tickets will be available since February 4. For more information, please visit www.tickets365.com.cn or contact (021) 6438-5200 ext 2123, (021) 6258-4541, 800-820-6161.
