There have been many a player to freeze under the spotlight of a Crucible debut – but Lyu Haotian is not one of them.
The 20-year old Chinese potter saw off Marco Fu 10-5 in the opening round of the World Championship in what can only go down as a highly impressive maiden appearance at snooker’s most iconic venue.
Lyu made breaks of 121, 85, 85 and 80 as he dominated this match from start to finish showing the wider snooker world what a cracking player he really is.
Fu – returning from a three-month sabbatical as he underwent laser eye surgery – looked a little short of match sharpness, but it should not take anything away from Lyu who simply looked right at home from ball one taking the first two frames and then leading all the way to the winning post.
This victory means Lyu has progressed to the last 16 of both the UK Championship and World Championship this season in only the first of his two-year tour card. It’s been quite a story of progression from 12 months ago where he was playing in Asian Snooker Championship attempting in earn his professional status.
Next up for the youngest player in this year’s event is a tie with either Stuart Carrington and former finalist Barry Hawkins. To put Lyu’s instant success at the Crucible into perspective, Hawkins has been to two finals, two semi-finals and a quarter-final in Sheffield in his past five visits yet it took him six attempts to get his first ever win here.
Lyu has got that landmark moment under his belt nice and early and can really feel like he’s part of the tournament now. Not only does he looked blessed with a compact and efficient cue action which means very little can go wrong, but he’s also a very fearless potter and will take the game to whoever he faces next.
Sometimes in this game, it’s the players who have the least to lose who can be the most dangerous.
