Higgins and Hawkins through to Welsh Open snooker final

John Higgins took another step towards a 30th ranking title, setting up a final meeting with Barry Hawkins at the ManBetX Welsh Open with a 6-2 defeat of Gary Wilson.

Higgins, who has won the Cardiff event a joint-record five times, booked his place in Sunday’s showdown with a commanding, if scrappy, victory over the world number 51.

The five-time World Champion didn’t hit the heights of his 5-1 quarter-final defeat of favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan but progressed to a 47th ranking final with few alarms.

In a low-scoring encounter, a run of 45 proved enough for the Wizard of Wishaw to take an early lead.
He went into the interval 3-1 ahead – despite a scare on the final pink – with a careful 99 break in the sixth a sure sign of why he’s notched seven centuries at the Motorpoint Arena.

Wilson beat Higgins in their last meeting at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open and aside from wins in the opening frame and the first after the resumption rarely threatened another upset.

“I’m relieved to win that one. I don’t like semi-finals, especially playing Gary who isn’t used to them,” said Higgins.

“Everybody was expecting me to win and that puts added pressure on at times. I was nervous throughout the game.

“You can see from the standard of the two quarter-finals, Barry and I were both nervy, but we’re through and that’s the main thing.

His opponent will be world number eight Hawkins, who prevailed in a marathon 6-4 defeat of Noppon Saengkham.

Neither player looked fluent, aside from Saengkham’s excellent 139 in the penultimate frame, with Hawkins’ ability to grind out four half-centuries seeing him through.

The Kent potter progressed to a fifth ranking final having led throughout, despite two stirring comebacks from his Thai opponent to bring the score back to 3-2 and then 5-4.

“It’s a bit of a subdued feeling, because it was such a long, drawn out match,” Hawkins said after the four and a half hour contest.

“It was a hard battle all the way through and not as free-flowing as I’d been in previous games.

“I’m sure it will sink in soon and I’ll be proud of myself – I should be, because I’ve made the final.”
Higgins and Hawkins have met on 15 previous occasions, the Scotsman winning eight and the Englishman seven.

They last met at the Crucible last year, when four-time World Champion Higgins thrashed Hawkins 17-8 in the semi-finals.

• Watch the Welsh Open LIVE on Eurosport, Eurosport Player and Quest with Andy Goldstein and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds