Higgins wins Wishaw war

John Higgins may have triumphed in the battle of Wishaw but knows he will need to play much better if he has any designs on winning a fourth Betway UK Championship title.

Higgins was far from his brilliant best in the first round at York’s Barbican Centre but still earned a 6-1 triumph over Chris Totten – a man who is from the same town and attended the same Lanarkshire school as the 42-year-old.

Totten, 18, is at the opposite end of his career to his idol and Higgins said: “It was a big occasion for him but will stand him in good stead. I’ll definitely need to play better to go further in this tournament .” ● Watch LIVE coverage of the UK Championship on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.