Higgins Wins Group Five

John Higgins won Group 5 of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational, beating Matthew Selt 3-1 in the final at the Morningside Arena, Leicester to progress to the Winners’ Group.

In the semi-finals, Higgins made light work of Xiao Guodong in a 3-0 win. The Wizard of Wishaw showed his class to deliver his best showing of the day with breaks of 135, 83, and 75.

Neil Robertson faced Selt in a high-quality affair in the other semi-final. After losing the first frame, Selt responded with a brilliant 133 in the second and 85 in the third to lead 2-1. Robertson forced a decider but Selt took it to prevail 3-2.

Higgins, who won the ranking event version of this tournament last year, took the opener in the group final with a classy 65 clearance. The Scot then doubled his lead before Selt pulled one back with a run of 80. A break of 57 in frame four helped four-time Crucible king Higgins secure the result.

Higgins said: “I am pleased to get through. I thought I was lucky to get in the semi-finals, the way the results went. I’ve had a decent record here. It’s good to get through it. I am pleased to be in Winners’ Group. It gives me another chance. It’d be good to get another title.”

Action continues on Thursday from 11 am with Group 6 where Joe Perry, Anthony McGill, and Zhou Yuelong enter proceedings.