John Higgins battled past Chris Wakelin in a nerve shredding final frame to win 6-5 and book his place in the quarter-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
The Scot recently ended a four-year ranking title drought by winning the World Open in Yushan. That extended back to the 2021 Players Championship, after which Higgins was beaten in his subsequent five ranking final appearances.
Higgins briefly fell out of the world’s top 16 earlier this season and admitted to being at a low point in terms of his confidence. However, he now has a renewed sense of optimism with the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship and the World Championship on the horizon.
Defeat for Wakelin ends both his hopes of qualifying for the Tour Championship. As a result, he is also unable to force his way into the world’s top 16 and must now face the qualifying rounds for the World Championship.
It was Wakelin who seized the early initiative this afternoon. Breaks of 92 and 129 helped him to lead 3-1 at the first mid-session interval.
The next two frames were traded to leave the score at 4-2, but a break of 61 helped Higgins to pull back within one. A marathon eighth lasted an hour and seven minutes, before Higgins eventually claimed it to restore parity at 4-4.
The 32-time ranking event winner then made it three on the bounce to lead for the first time since the opening frame at 5-4. A tense tenth saw Wakelin spurn two frame ball opportunities on the brown, but he was eventually afforded a third and took it to force a decider.
The final frame saw Wakelin embark on a potential match winning clearance, before he missed a tricky final red to the top left. The ball remained over the pocket and Higgins cleared to the black to earn himself a quarter-final clash with China’s Xiao Guodong.
“I did think I would return to the table in the last frame. When things start to go for you, then you believe you will get another chance. I fancied something to happen because I’m on a good run,” said four-time World Champion Higgins.
“If I hadn’t won that event and I was struggling for confidence, Chris may well have cleared up there. It is a crazy game. You have to enjoy it when things are going for you. There are more downs in this game than there are ups.
“I was trying my hardest but Chris was playing really well. He is such a clever player. You can tell he has spent many years practising with Mark Selby. It was a great win for me.”
On the other table, Xiao overcame compatriot Wu Yize, in another deciding frame, to prevail 6-5 and book his last eight showdown with Higgins.
This season has seen Xiao, 17 years on from first turning professional, finally capture a maiden ranking title at the Wuhan Open. He followed that up with a tremendous run to the final of the Champion of Champions, where he was beaten by Mark Williams.
Xiao rallied from 3-1 down this afternoon, making a brilliant 73 to clinch the tie in the final frame.
Xiao said: "The first thing to say is sorry to Wu Yize. We are good friends and he played so well. He put me under a lot of pressure. The fluke in the last frame changed the whole game. I got a chance and cleared up. This is snooker.
"Winning the Wuhan Open gave me a lot of confidence. After that I relaxed and I haven't been too nervous. I've just enjoyed playing good players and being in nice venues. Everything is going amazing and is perfect to me right now."