Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HURRICANE HIGGINS
Scot: I’ll have to be fast out of blocks to win my fifth World title
JOHN HIGGINS is on cloud nine after giving himself a great chance to win a fifth Betfred World Championship 20 years after his first.
The Wizard of Wishaw won his first Crucible crown back in 1998, beating defending champion Ken Doherty 18-12.
And the 42-year-old became the first man to reach back-to-back finals on the game’s grandest stage after beating English young gun Kyren Wilson 17-13 in a gripping semi-final yesterday.
Higgins said: “I’m just proud to reach another final, but I’ll need to start a lot better to win number five.
“I’m so proud that 20 years after winning my first one I’m sitting here ready to compete in another one.
“To come back here and reach a second final in a row is a great moment for me. I can’t wait for the final. I had a great time in the final, other than the result, last year and I’ll have a great two days no matter what happens.
“I haven’t had many family members here, they didn’t want to tempt fate but they’ll be jumping in cars now and that will be brilliant.”
Higgins is gunning to become the oldest player to land the most prized possession in the green-baize game since Ray Reardon’s agedefying 1978 triumph at the age of 45. Last season the Scot suffered a painstaking defeat as he collapsed from a commanding 10-4 lead to lose 18-15 to three-time champion Mark Selby.
That disappointing defeat was Higgins’ second in a Crucible final after losing to rival Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2001.
Higgins resumed 13-11 up and finished things off with 136, 100 and 98 breaks as his experience told. Deflated world No.9 Wilson reflected: “The first session was probably my undoing in the match. I couldn’t catch John and it was just experience.
“He obviously seized on the opportunity of my inexperience early on. I felt like it was Tom and Jerry and I was always trying to catch the mouse.
“John’s absolute class and what an ambassador for the sport we have in John.”