John Higgins kept his cool to edge Tom Ford 5-3 and overcome another hurdle as he bids to win the Scottish Open for the first time.
The Wishaw Wizard (pictured) logged breaks of 132, 61 and 64 to take the first three frames of his quarter-final against Ford but then lost the next three to breaks of 58, 56 and 99 for the match in the BetVictor-backed event to be level at 3-3.
But Higgins, the world No 12, who has been struggling to find his best form this week, used all his experience to win the seventh frame 66-25 and close out the match against a man ranked No 18, with a break of 71 in the eighth for an 85-0 scoreline.
The 48-year-old, who has won 31 ranking titles, now plays Noppon Saengkham, rated no 26, in the semi-final at Meadowbank at 19.00 on Saturday. It is the fourth time that the Scot has reached the final four of the Scottish Open and he has been runner-up in 2016 and 2021 to Marco Fu and current world champion, Luca Brecel.
Higgins told WST TV: “It was a big win for me. I’ve lost a few times to Tom and he is such an improved player. Tom put me under pressure to go 3-3. He missed a couple in the seventh. He could have got on top but, luckily, I managed to get the frame and finish off the match.”
Holder Gary Wilson is on the table at 13.00 against Zhou Yuelong and he shutout Chris Wakelin 5-0 in his quarter-final rattling in five 50-plus breaks.
The man ranked No 20 in the world opened with a break of 68 for and 86-30 success, then rattled in a 96 for a 97-31 frame win. The next saw the Tyneside cueman compile a break of 118 for a 118-0 score then he followed up with a 68 break in the fourth for a 68-17 win.
A break of 82 closed out the match in the fifth frame against a man ranked only two places below him with a scoreline of 82-47.
Noppen Saengkham, ranked No 26, recorded two breaks of 100 and another of 94 in his 5-2 quarter-final win over Leeds-based Sanderson Lam ranked No 69 and Zhou Yuelong, rated No 21, logged a break of 100 in the opening frame and a 97 in the fifth to see off Basildon-based Bingham 5-4. The Englishman, however, who is ranked No 25, compiled an excellent break of 142 in the sixth frame.
Quarter-final scores: Zhou Yuelong 5, Stuart Bingham 4; Gary Wilson 5, Chris Wakelin 0; Sanderson Lam 3, Noppon Saengkham 5; John Higgins 5, Tom Ford 3.
Matches Saturday: semi-final: Gary Wilson v Zhou Yuelong (13.00); Noppon Saengkham v John Higgins (19.00).
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
