Higgins And Lisowski Hit Form In Welsh Open Thriller

Defending champion John Higgins plays Joe O’Connor in the quarter-finals of the ManBetX Welsh Open this afternoon.

Higgins admits his enthusiasm for snooker has diminished and it was fitting that on St Valentine’s Day he said: “I’m keen to fall in love with the game again.”

The Scot won 4-3 against Gloucester’s Jack Lisowski during a match in which both men hit form.

There were three centuries in the first four frames. Higgins made a break of 103 while Lisowski scored 134 and 115.

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The rivals were locked at 2-2 and 3-3, while Lisowski led 40-1 in the decider.

Higgins then cleared the table to secure victory and a place in the last eight at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.

“I can’t believe I’m through after missing, twitching really, in the last frame,” Higgins told Eurosport.

“I was thinking ‘Hopeless’.

“Jack is one of the players who makes you feel inadequate to be playing alongside him because he’s so talented, so fluent. 

“In that last frame he seemed he wasn’t even concentrating. Maybe he felt the game was done.”

Higgins, 43, has been Welsh Open champion six times and says: “To win this title six times would be some achievement, I suppose.”

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He is through to the last eight of a ranking event for only the second time this season, the first since September’s China Championship.

The 43-year-old will take confidence from the way he finished off the match tonight in Cardiff, as he kept his pursuit of a sixth Welsh Open title alive.

Higgins now plays Leicester’s O’Connor, a tour rookie who won 4-1 against Ding Junhui. 

“I played well and took my chances,” said O’Connor. “This has been my best tournament so far and I just want to enjoy it from now. 

“It means the world because my dad and a few friends are here and it’s nice to see them proud.”

Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham scored a spectacular 147 break against Mark Selby, the first maximum of his career, but still went down 4-3.

A magical clearance from the Wizard!

He wins a classic with Jack Lisowski 4-3 and is through to the quarter-finals!#HomeNations #WelshOpen pic.twitter.com/y8rgkEBP6p

— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 14, 2019

Then Selby went out in the last 16, losing 4-3 against Iran’s Hossein Vafaei.

“It’s such a great feeling to beat the World number one,” said Vafaei. “I was looking for that one chance and believed I would take it.

“In the last frame the chance came, I potted red and cleared up.”

Vafaei now plays Scott Donaldson, saying: “I defeated Scott in the Northern Ireland Open last 16 and am looking forward to the match. I always believe in myself.”

Stuart Bingham, Welsh Open champion two years ago, took his place in the last eight after producing breaks of 128, 103 and 124 in the last three frames of his a 4-2 win against Robbie Williams in sensational style. From 2-1 down, Bingham took the last three frames with breaks of 128, 103 and 124.

Australian Neil Robertson defeated Michael Georgiou 4-0 and said: “When you play a second match in a day you never know who is going to recover the best.

Australian Neil Robertson. Pic: Getty Images.

“We had a laugh afterwards because Michael told me how knackered he was after the first couple of frames. This is the trickiest day of the tournament.”

Swiss player Alexander Ursenbacher, conqueror of Ronnie O’Sullivan, could not repeat his heroics when he went down 4-2 against China’s Zhao Xintong, whose breaks of 104, 73, 56 and 86 took him through.

Scott Donaldson and Norway’s Kurt Maflin with won 4-2, beating Ian Burns and Elliot Slessor respectively.

Fourth round results:

John Higgins 4, Jack Lisowski 3

Ding Junhui 1, Joe O’Connor 4

Robbie Williams 2, Stuart Bingham 4

Zhao Xintong 4, Alexander Ursenbacher 2

Mark Selby 3, Hossein Vafaei 4

Scott Donaldson 4, Ian Burns 2

Michael Georgiou 0, Neil Robertson 4

Kurt Maflin 4, Elliot Slessor 2

Quarter-final draw:

Noon Stuart Bingham v Zhao Xintong

2pm John Higgins v Joe O’Connor

7pm Hossein Vafaei v Scott Donaldson

7pm Neil Robertson v Kurt Maflin