Higgins hangs in to win at The Crucible
JOHN HIGGINS produced a fighting performance to advance in the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield.
His Northern Irish opponent, Mark Allen, saw a 5-3 overnight lead over the Wizard of Wishaw swiftly wiped out as he finished their morning session 9-7 in arrears.
Allen immediately made it 9-8 at the start of the final session and looked set to win the next until he got a kick when attempting to pot a red to a top corner on 58.
Higgins went on to win that frame and the next with a run of 120, and after Allen pulled one back, Scotland’s four-time world champion wrapped things up 13-9 to set up a meeting at The Crucible with Kyren Wilson.
Ronnie O’Sullivan insisted he was “really not that bothered” about winning the World title for a sixth time after he reached the quarterfinals with a 13-7 victory over Shaun Murphy.
O’Sullivan fired two centuries and nine further breaks over 50 as he secured a spot in the last eight.
When O’Sullivan was pressed after the Murphy win about how much he wants a sixth world title, which would take him level with Steve Davis, his attitude was phlegmatic.
“I’m really not that bothered. I know it might sound crazy,’’ he said.
“At the end of it, if I was to win it I’d be sitting here saying it was a great, great feeling – but I’ve had that feeling five times before.
“It’s nice for a few days, a week or so. But after that you think: ‘Is it worth putting 365 days of blood, sweat and tears into hopefully winning the world title, to get that feeling?’
“I look at myself like a band or a singer nowadays. But I’m not confident of writing brilliant albums every year.
“I haven’t had the greatest of seasons – I haven’t written a great album this year.’’
Asked if he had become the Rolling Stones of the snooker circuit, O’Sullivan said: “The Rolling Stones are still the big act, they don’t support anybody.
“Maybe I’m a bit like James Blunt. He seems a pretty cool dude.’’
Ding had to fight all the way to beat fellow Chinese player Liang Wenbo 13-12.
Reigning champion Mark Selby is 6-2 ahead of Xiao Guodong, and that was also the score by which Rory McLeod trailed Stephen Maguire.