John Higgins stormed back from 5-2 down to beat Xiao Guodong 6-5 and make the semi-finals of the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
The Wizard of Wishaw captured a first ranking title in four years at the recent World Open in Yushan. He’s since admitted that it has provided newfound confidence after suffering a string of heartbreaking losses.
Higgins now has 32 ranking titles to his name, but his four-year drought extended back to the 2021 Players Championship. The intervening period saw him lose his next five ranking finals.
Next up Higgins, who also won 6-5 in his opening round tie with Chris Wakelin, faces a blockbuster semi-final showdown with world number one Judd Trump. The Scot will be aiming to end a streak 11 consecutive ranking event defeats at the hands of the Englishman.
Xiao dominated the early exchanges this afternoon. He fired in runs of 111, 55, 60 and 104 on his way to storming into a 5-2 lead and moving one from victory.
At that point Higgins dug deep and things began to unravel for Xiao. The Chinese cueman sportingly called a foul on himself after missing a ball with difficult bridging in the eighth and Higgins stepped in with 70 to close within two frames.
Xiao had another opportunity in the ninth, but missed a tricky red to left middle after an unfortunate pack split. Higgins took the frame to make it 5-4.
Both players spurned opportunities in the next, the worst of which was an easy blue to the middle by Xiao. Glasgow’s Higgins forced the final frame, which he controlled to get over the line for a comeback victory.
“I’m very relieved. I’ve been on the wrong end of matches like that, where I’ve been dominant. To come out on the right side is brilliant,” said 49-year-old Higgins.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the game. He was outplaying me, but it was great. There was a packed crowd. I was hoping to make him win the game. Luckily ,he missed a couple of pressure balls and let me back into it.
“That is what I’ll miss when I retire from the game. That pressure moment at 5-5 when you have a chance to win the match. You can’t replicate that at any time. It only happens at snooker, in crunch matches. That is one thing I definitely will miss.
“I can’t wait to play Judd. I’m sure the arena will be packed. I’ll be second favourite, maybe a big second favourite. I think I’ll go into it relaxed, knowing that I’ve got to play well to have a chance. Even then it doesn’t guarantee winning. I can’t wait to go out there and give it my all.”
Higgins Winning Interview