Fu rides his luck

Marco Fu thought he was on his way out

Marco Fu pulled off the greatest escape of his career to sneak into the second round of the LG Cup at Preston Guild Hall.

He set up a re-match with Ken Doherty, his quarter-final victim at last month's Regal Scottish Masters, with a dramatic 5-4 victory over Ali Carter.

But when Fu trailed 4-1, and found himself snookered on the yellow in frame six, the 23 year-old from Hong Kong looked set to exit.

The turning point arrived when, in escaping the troublesome snooker, Fu outrageously fluked the yellow to launch a match-saving clearance to pink.

Now I'm really enjoying myself, I've got a positive attitude and I know I'm going to start playing well again

John Parott

World number 17 Fu accounted for the seventh frame with a 132 total clearance to set the early target for the event's £7,500 highest break award.

He was on course to force a decider when he built a 59-point advantage late in the eighth, only to see Carter build a clearance of 63 that featured a number of cool pressure pots.

On the verge of victory, though, world number 61 Carter inexplicably missed a straightforward black off its spot, much to the surprise and relief of his opponent.

Edged through

"Now everything else is a bonus because I didn't expect to still be here when Ali was down on that black," admitted Fu, who put together runs of 34 and 46 in the decider to complete his unlikely recovery.

"I came back from 1-4 down to win 5-4 in a qualifying match once but I've never done it in a tournament proper," he added.

Earlier, John Parrott edged into the second round with a 5-4 win over Pakistan's Shokat Ali.

Parrott thinks he can return to the top 16

The 1991 world champion, who now meets man of the moment John Higgins, believes that linking up with coaching guru Frank Callan will bring a return to form.

"Everyone knows about Frank's technical knowledge and that's important but he's also given me back my zest for the sport.

"For the last couple of years I've been going through the motions. I didn't really want to be there and that's why I'm glad to have him around.

"Now I'm really enjoying myself, I've got a positive attitude and I know I'm going to start playing well again."

Advantage

Parrott is 22nd in the current world standings after losing his opening match in five of the eight ranking events last season.

He looked in trouble when Ali went into the mid-session interval with a 3-1 advantage thanks to a 115 total clearance in frame four.

"I was a little bit timid in the early stages," said Parrott, who captured the 1991 UK title in Preston.

Parrott appeared more confident when play re-started as breaks of 47, 46 and 67 carried the 37-year-old Liverpudlian back to level terms at 3-3.

John Higgins is Parrott's next opponent

Ali, a snooker gold medallist at the 1998 Asian Games, regained the lead at 4-3 thanks to a run of 77.

But he was frozen out in the closing two frames as Parrott held his nerve to squeeze through.

Drew Henry joined him in the last 32 with a 5-2 victory over fellow Scot Marcus Campbell.

The win avenged his defeat in the final qualifying round of the Embassy World Championship in March.

Mansfield's Jason Ferguson, vice-chairman of the game's governing body, World Snooker, will face Dave Harold in round two after a 5-2 win over Welshman Anthony Davies.