Higgins impresses in stunning match

John Higgins produced a stunning performance last night to beat Ronnie O’sullivan in the quarterfinals of the Masters snooker tournament in Milton Keynes.

The Scot set up a lastfour meeting with David Gilbert by seeing off the world champion 6-3 in a high-quality match.

O’sullivan gave a taste of what was to come with a 97 break to lead but Higgins responded with a 145, the highest break of the tournament, and 110 to build a 3-1 lead.

The scores were level at 3-3 when the Rocket added runs of 125 and 103 but Higgins kicked on again and a 134 break moved him ahead.

He looked on course for another century in a remarkable match but broke down on 88 before sealing an impressive victory.

Yan Bingtao produced the highest break of his career to win another decider after he beat Stephen Maguire to book a semi-final meeting with defending champion Stuart Bingham.

A score of 141 was enough for the tournament debutant to get the better of his Scottish opponent 6-5 after a back and forth encounter.

Maguire had produced a 137 break earlier on, but ‘Yan the Man’ saved his best until the last frame to keep his remarkable run going.

Following a final-frame victory over Neil Robertson in the previous round, the 20-year-old is now only two wins away from a first major title.

Yan claimed the first two sets of this quarter-final tie but quality was in short order until Maguire levelled the scores with 102 in the fourth.

It seemed the Scot had hit his straps when he took the lead for the first time in the next frame, but consecutive half-century breaks put Yan back in front.

The topsy-turvy nature of the last four clash continued when Maguire produced a 137 to restore parity, but his Chinese rival responded and made the most of a major lapse to move within one of a semifinal berth.

The 10th frame was initially error-strewn but a fluke red allowed former world number two Maguire to set up a decider and, like it had been for the majority of the match, it seemed the victor would be decided on who made the fewest mistakes.

Shandong-based Yan had other ideas and produced a masterful break of 141 to ensure his missed chances were quickly forgotten, with defending champion Bingham next in his sights. ● Stephen Hendry’s snooker comeback has been delayed after he withdrew from next week’s WST Pro Series.

The seven-time world champion, who turned 52 on Wednesday, retired in 2012 but last year accepted a two-year invitational card to return to the big stage.

The WST Pro Series, a new tournament which beefs up snooker’s schedule with no overseas events due to coronavirus, sees 16 groups of eight players initially play best-of-three matches.

Hendry had been drawn in group G but will be replaced by John Astley, WST said yesterday.