John Higgins overturned a four-frame deficit to reach the semi-finals of the Cazoo Tour Championship with a battling 10-9 win over top seed Zhao Xintong.
The four-time world champion, whose place in the elite eight-strong event in Llandudno was only confirmed when Kyren Wilson lost in Saturday’s Gibraltar Open final, looked out of sorts for most of his quarter-final on Monday.
The Chinese youngster had bagged two centuries in the afternoon session and a run of 128 in the evening saw him take command in the evening, followed by a 71 which saw him move four clear.
Higgins though knows better than most that if the target is 10, eight isn't enough and began to cut out the mistakes in his own game to eat into the deficit. Soon, it was clear that Zhao was feeling the pressure on his debut in the event, and Higgins strung together breaks of 56 and 83, his highest of the match, to level.
Zhao got in at the start of frame 17 but again broke down as Higgins added a third half-century to move into the lead for the first time, by which point the outcome appeared inevitable even if the scoreline said otherwise. But Zhao, to his credit, capitalised on an over-cut blue from Higgins with a break of 64, enough to force a decider.
The final frame quickly took the form of a safety battle, reds surrounding the black and others pinned to the bottom rail. It was the sort of exchange which ought to have suited Higgins, but Zhao held his own before a fluked red to the middle ended 10 minutes without a pot, though there was no colour available as battle resumed.
So poorly positioned were the reds that when chances came, it was still difficult to see a path to victory. Higgins potted an excellent blue to middle but couldn't drop on a red, and Zhao missed from range. But then Zhao was forced into attempting a pot from range which carried risk, and when he missed, Higgins was back at the table, this time among the balls and at least poised it seemed to establish a clear lead.
He did that, plotting a path from red to pink and back again, before missing a tricky red with the rest and handing Zhao a reprieve, only for the left-hander to rattle the jaws when attempting to pot black and run the cue ball around the table. Higgins came back with a handy lead and an easy starter, before another safety exchange ended when Zhao took on a four-ball plant which missed and brought all four reds into the open.
Higgins was left with a chance from range and fired it in, adding a tough pink to left-middle which was in effect match ball to complete an excellent comeback win. During some narrow defeats this season, the Scot has called into question his own stomach for the task. Perhaps this unlikely victory will convince him of that which everyone else knows: he's still got it.
Higgins told ITV: “I can’t believe I won that. I was embarrassed with myself at 8-4.
“I was sat there thinking, ‘He’s playing like the world-class player he is and I’m playing like a club player.
“I didn’t fancy coming back at all but then he started missing a couple and I started hitting a little bit better.
“I was still all over the place but I dragged him down to my level. Without a shadow of a doubt, that’s why I’ve won.”
