Fu hoping pressure is off now

Marco Fu admitted it would be a "dream come true" to be crowned Maplin UK Champion - but insisted he would be the underdog at the Telford International Centre tomorrow.

The Hong Kong ace booked his place in the final with a 9-7 victory over this year's World Championship runner-up Ali Carter last night.

He made three centuries in an impressive display of consistent break-building - a far cry from his quarter-final defeat to Mark Selby last year, which included a marathon 77-minute frame.

But he believes all the pressure will be on his opponent in the final - whoever wins today's second semi between Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire.

"It would be a dream come true if I was to win, no question about it," he declared.

"You really have to be a great player to win the UK Championship - not a good player but a great player.

"I can't imagine what it would feel like to win it right now. It is quite scary thinking about it."

Today's second semi-final is a clash between the players ranked two and three in the world.

And Fu knows he will have his work cut out if he is to beat either of them and win his third ranking title.

"They're both tough and I don't have any preferences," he said.

"I used to practise with Stephen all the time and I fully understand just how good he actually is.

"He's done really well to get to No 2 in the world and he will be feeling a lot more confident than I am.

"So will Shaun, because he's won the World Championship.

"Either of them will be favourite going into the final but I've got less to lose, and if I can play to the standard that I've been producing for the last week then I've got a chance."

By CHRIS HUDSON at Telford International Centre