Marco Fu said he was looking forward to playing one of his heroes Steve Davis in his wildcard match at the Saga Insurance Masters on Monday.
Fu dropped out of the top 16 last season but a Crucible semi-final spot in 2006 and victory in the 2007 Grand Prix has seen him rise to 13th.
"Steve is one of the reasons why I started to play the game," the 30-year-old told World Snooker.
"I'm sure most of the crowd will be on his side but I don't mind that."
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Hong Kong's Fu, who has been invited to play at this year's non-ranking event at Wembley Arena, has not appeared at the Masters since 2005 when he was defeated by China's Ding Junhui.
"That year was probably the low point of my career," said Fu.
"I didn't qualify for the Crucible and along with dropping out of the top 16, it left me very disappointed with the way things were going.
"Technically, I was having a lot of problems. Back then I didn't have a coach and it was hard to figure out what I was doing wrong."
Fu is based in his homeland during the snooker season and said he does not mind the long commute he has to make for a large number of the events.
"If there is a three-week break between tournaments I try to get home," he added.
"It's good to get back and see family and friends. I have a match table in a local club and get plenty of practice.
"Unfortunately, there aren't as many clubs in Hong Kong as they used to be. But the game has grown in popularity on mainland China since I turned professional 10 years ago."
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