John Higgins scored one of the vital satisfying victories of his profession and ended a sequence of 4 years and not using a rating title by beating Joe O’Connor 10-6 within the remaining of the Weide Cup World Open in Yushan, China.
One in all snooker’s all-time greats, Higgins feared that his days of lifting trophies had been over, notably after a collection of a slender defeats in essential matches, most painfully a 10-9 reverse from 9-4 forward within the 2022 Tour Championship remaining towards Neil Robertson.
Wishaw’s 49-year-old Higgins has, finally, buried these demons by capturing his first rating title for the reason that 2021 Gamers Championship. And it’s an enormous occasion – with a high prize of £175,000 which lifts him to eighth within the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and as much as third within the Johnstone’s Paint One-12 months listing. He now has 32 rating titles, behind solely Ronnie O’Sullivan (40) and Stephen Hendry (36).
Set to show 50 in Might, the Scot turns into the second oldest rating occasion winner in snooker historical past, after Ray Reardon who was simply the opposite facet of his fiftieth birthday when he received the 1982 Skilled Gamers Event. Higgins additionally units a brand new document for the longest hole between first and most up-to-date rating titles, 30 years and 129 days after his maiden success on the 1994 Grand Prix.
Fellow ‘Class of 92’ members O’Sullivan and Mark Williams have had moments within the limelight in current seasons, which can have stung for Higgins as his normal was nonetheless excessive however he struggled to deal with nerves in huge moments, describing it himself as “psychological fragility.” He has by no means misplaced the starvation to win extra titles and has experimented extensively with totally different cues in addition to methods to maintain his feelings beneath management. This week he has discovered a components that works, and the four-time Crucible king will hope that lasts as he appears to be like to increase his astonishing longevity.
O’Connor had performed maybe the very best snooker of his life in reaching the ultimate, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter. The 29-year-old from Leicester began slowly immediately and left himself too huge a deficit to claw again, and remains to be ready for his first professional title, having misplaced his solely earlier remaining 9-2 towards Gary Wilson on the 2022 Scottish Open. Nonetheless, the £75,000 pay day is a profession finest and lifts him eight locations to world quantity 31.
Main 6-2 after the first session, Higgins quickly prolonged that benefit as a break of 68 helped him take the opening body of the night session. Runs of 71 and 70 obtained O’Connor again to 7-4, just for Higgins to reply with 57 and 94 to go 9-4 forward.
In body 14, Higgins had an opportunity for victory from 45-1 down, however made simply 24 earlier than lacking a dangerous plant to a centre pocket, handing his opponent the prospect to tug one again. Higgins established a 43-8 lead within the fifteenth earlier than O’Connor obtained the higher of a security alternate and, with the balls in unpromising positions, made a marvellous 67 clearance together with a double on the ultimate inexperienced to a centre pocket.
At 9-6, Higgins might have feared a late collapse, however he composed himself and completed in excellent type with a break of 100, his fifth century of the event.
Article by WST.
