John Higgins came back from 5-1 down to beat Judd Trump 6-5 in a masterclass display of snooker at the Scottish Open
Leading up to today’s semi-final against John Higgins, Judd Trump struggled with form on the match table yesterday against Robert Milkins. Similarly, John Higgins struggled somewhat against Ronnie O’Sullivan but in his previous three matches Higgins whitewashed all three opponents.
The match today was one of the most anticipated games of the tournament, with two of snooker’s most ruthless players at the top of their game and number 3 and 4 in the world respectfully and the crowd certainly got what they came to see.
In previous days there was plenty of complaints about the television table, most notably by John Higgins yesterday who gave it a 0/10, but all those excuses were put aside as the table was re-clothed last night, and boy did it make a huge difference to the quality of snooker displayed today.
The high standard of snooker seen in the first part of the match today by Judd Trump was totally unexpected. We know how good a snooker player he is, sometimes compared to Ronnie O’Sullivan in style, but it’s quite rare to see a player in such good form.
It was clear from the very first shot from Trump that he was on form; Knocking in a long red and making a total clearance of 132. He followed that up with a break of 70 after John Higgins broke down on 56 to lead 2-0.
Higgins took the next with a break of 88 but Trump pushed on with flawless breaks of 126, 99 and a 112 to lead the Scot 5-1 with a pot success of 97%.
Just as it seemed all over for John Higgins, the pendulum swung in favour of the Scot taking the next 4 frames on the trot to level the match with Trump and force the deciding frame.
How many times have we seen players come back into matches from behind, only to fall at the very last hurdle?
Up until the final frame, Judd Trump had been totally shut out of the second part of the match, often finding himself stuck to the baulk cushion, but a schoolboy error by Higgins from a snooker gifted Trump the first chance in the frame which he scored 39 points from.
After a great safety shot from Higgins, Trump missed a tough red and Higgins got his chance to score where the competitive nature of this man shun to make a match winning frame to beat Trump remarkably 6-5.
After the match, Higgins was asked if he thought he could come back from 5-1 down he said; “No way, not a chance.”
“I’m delighted to win such a match in front of my home crowd.
Higgins will now face either Marco Fu or Yu Delu in the final tomorrow.
