Recently, Fu Jiajun, who has been away from the professional arena for more than two years, announced in a high profile on his personal Weibo, Facebook and other platforms that he has completed the registration for this season's World Championships. Fu Jiajun will first participate in the World Championships, which starts on April 4, and strive to rush into Crucible. With the release of this news, the rumors surrounding Fu Jiajun's retirement have been self-defeating.
Fu Jiajun announced in a high-profile manner that he had signed up for this season's World Championships. The World Championship Qualifiers will be held on 4-13 April at the British Institute of Sport in Sheffield. If the format of this season's World Championship qualifiers is the same as in the previous two years, Fu Jiajun will need to start from the first round and win four consecutive matches to advance to Crucible.
Fu Jiajun has been away from the professional snooker arena for more than two years – Fu Jiajun's last professional appearance dates back to the Welsh Open in February 2020, when he lost 2-4 to Ding Junhui in the first round. Since then, due to the outbreak of the epidemic, Fu Jiajun has returned to Hong Kong. In November of the same year, Fu Jiajun announced that he would forfeit all competitions for the 2020/21 season, including the World Championship qualifiers that were expected to continue his career.
At the end of the 2020/21 season, Fu Jiajun fell out of the top 64 in the world rankings and suffered relegation for the first time in his career. However, WST immediately announced that it would be awarded a veteran wild card, and Fu Jiajun qualified for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, and his career that began in 1998 was extended.
Fu Jiajun's use of this precious wild card was not sufficient. After the start of this season, Fu Jiajun did not go to the UK for a long time due to multiple factors such as health, family and personal career, becoming the only professional player with zero participation this season. Somewhat comfortingly, Mr. Fu has been training in Hong Kong, scoring a single 148 in November 2020 and a single 147 in March 2021.
It should be noted that Fu Jiajun currently has 0 bonus points, which is at the bottom of the world ranking. Although this season is not his relegation season, the huge relegation pressure has been formed next season. Taking precautions, if Fu Jiajun wants to continue to extend his career without relying on wild cards, it has become necessary to play the upcoming World Championship qualifiers.