Higgins is fuming after exit in quarters
John Higgins was left livid after crashing out of the UK Championship at the quarterfinal stage.
The Wizard of Wishaw lost out 6-5 to eventual winner Mark Selby.
However, the 41-year-old was furious after crawling his way back from 3-0 down to go 5-4 in front.
Back-to-back legs from the world number one sealed defeat for Higgins, who could not contain his disappointment following Friday’s exit.
He said: “I’m absolutely gutted.
“I would rather have lost 6-0 and been up the road than lose 6-5 like that.
“Who cares how much fight you show at the end of the day? It doesn’t matter how much fight you show when you lose a tough match like that.”
Higgins clash with Selby was controversially cut by BBC as the Leicester ace was all set to hit the winning shot.
The coverage was switched to the red button whilst the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show, ‘It Takes Two’ was shown instead.
Fans fumed on Twitter following the decision with many calling for the BBC to lose the right to show the snooker.
Higgins must now set his sights on the Coral Scottish Open next week. Wishaw’s finest compared the event, which will be held at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena from December 12-18, to a tennis grand slam.
The world-ranking event is part of the new Home Nations quartet of tournaments, alongside the English, Irish and Welsh Opens, with any player who wins all four events receiving a massive £1 million bonus.
Higgins said:“To win all four would be very difficult – you could compare it to Novak Djokovic or Tiger Woods trying to win all four Grand Slam events in tennis or golf.
“It’s a fantastic thing to aim for and you can imagine the hype around the Scottish Open if someone were to win the first two events. They would be under so much pressure! I’m sure every top player will look at that potential £1m bonus and want to have a go.”
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