Clearing the first hurdle at this month's World Championship would be an improvement for him but Marco Fu Ka-chun is focused on capturing his first title on the professional circuit in the remaining three events of the season.
The SAR's snooker sensation has failed to take a step further since reaching the Grand Prix final as a rookie in 1998 and hasn't yet reached the second round at the World Championship, suffering first-round exits to Thai star James Wattana in 1999 and Englishman Anthony Hamilton last year.
But Fu, 23, believes it will be a different story this year as he has a 100 per cent record against his first-round opponent, world number 21 Chris Small. 'I'm very confident in beating him as I defeated him both times we met,' said Fu. 'The fact that it'll be a best-of-19-frames first round at the World Championship gives me the edge because longer frames always benefit the better players. There is more time for me to warm up and it's less likely for him to pull off an upset.'
'Actually, my target is to win one event this season. If I can get past him [Small], I'll have a good chance as the first round is always the toughest. I'm not afraid of the top players as we're very close and I've beaten them before,' Fu said after a practice session in Stirling, Scotland, yesterday.
If Fu has been saving the best for last, he will have three more chances to win his first major title. He will be competing in next week's Regal Scottish Open, where he will face the winner of the Mark King and Jamie Burnett clash, the World Championship, as well as next month's Premier League semi-finals.