The former United States National Snooker Champion, Raymond Fung, has accepted an invitation from the Board of the United States Snooker Association (USSA) to become a director.

The USSA is currently in the process of recruiting directors who have given great service to the sport in the United States and are influential in their home region, and Fung fits this description perfectly as he has been one of the top players in the New York City area for the past two decades and is respected by all players.

Fung has lived and breathed snooker since moving to Brooklyn from his native Hong Kong, and although he took a break from competitive play ten years ago due to family and work commitments, he just had to return to the sport he loved as he missed it so much.

A winner of numerous USSA Tour events over the years, it was always his greatest ambition though to win the United States National Snooker Championship, and after being runner-up in 2004 and 2014 he achieved his dream by winning a fantastic final 5-4 over Ahmed Aly Elsayed in 2017.

Ajeya Prabhakar, the president of the USSA, commented: "I have known Ray for a long time and I am looking forward to him serving on the Board.

"He has always assisted the association in the communication with players and the coordination of events in New York City, and so while he has always been with us in spirit he will now officially be recognized as a director."

"I'm very happy that the USSA has invited me to serve on the Board," said Fung.

"I started to play snooker as a teenage when I was in Hong Kong, and after I moved to New York City I was very lucky to meet some passionate snooker lovers there so I could continue to commit the only hobby that I have.

"I met Ajeya in my very first National Championship 20 years ago. Not only did I meet great people at that Championship, but also I gained some experience that I could share to my snooker friends back in New York City.

"During the past 20 years, I have invited the Hong Kong national team to travel to New York City for an exhibition game, and locally I've organized a lot of tournaments for different snooker clubs."

Fung concluded: "I look forward to continue to help the development of snooker in the United States."