Wizardry required
John Higgins enters the championship final as underdog but believes he has game to beat Mark Selby, hears Charlie Bennett
JOHN Higgins knows he is the underdog heading into today’s Betfred World Championship final – but he is adamant he has the game to beat Mark Selby and win his fifth world crown.
Higgins eventually saw off Barry Hawkins in the last four but he knows that he has his work cut out against the world No 1, who he beat in the 2007 final when he was at the peak of his powers.
Since then, Selby has grown into the best player in the world and is bidding for his third world title in four years after holding off Ding Junhui 17-15 – leaving Higgins, now in the autumn of his career, in no doubt that he faces a major step up in class after Hawkins failed to provide a serious test.
The Wishaw ace eventually wrapped up his semi-final 17-8, requiring just one frame in the evening session to dispatch the English left-hander.
The damage was done earlier in the day, as Higgins extended his 10-6 lead to 16-8 – as he finally settled into the groove after replacing the tip on his cue.
And now he is gearing up for his sixth world final, knowing he has not lost a final at the Crucible Theatre since 2001.
“You have to favour Mark because he has been involved in the big matches in the last four or five years and I have not really been,” said Higgins, who last won the title in 2011.
“Mark is a big favourite. There is no doubt about that but I feel that if I can play my best game, I could push him hard.
“I will be nervous. As you get older the nerves are harder to suppress, so I will be a bag of nerves but then I will settle down and hopefully we will give everyone a good final. With it being the 40th anniversary at the Crucible, it is a special year.”
Entering the decisive day four frames to the good, Higgins expected a Hawkins onslaught. But instead it was the Scot who rose to the occasion, with the new tip on his cue increasing his confidence as he returned to the kind of level he has displayed throughout the tournament.
He won six of the eight frames on offer, and rattled in a century in the first frame of the evening to book his place.
“I am delighted to get through. I cannot believe I played like that and beat Barry 17-8. Barry will be disappointed with the way he played,” he said.
“He just never turned up. I was really expecting him to put in a great performance but luckily for me he did not.
“I did not know what was going to happen in the evening. It was a one-in-a-million chance for him to get back at 16-8 behind, but you never know in this game and I went in thinking if he wins three or four, anything can happen.
“I am delighted to finish it off. It is hard going but I feel fine. The only thing I was struggling with was the tip in the first two sessions. I knew it has gone and I could not pot a ball.
“I got a new tip on it overnight. I was confident of playing better and I think I did that in the morning. I was hitting the ball a lot more solid compared to the first session when I was all over the place. I am delighted to get over the line.” Watch the Snooker World Championship Live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player, with Colin Murray and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds