Higgins Retains Title in Wales
John Higgins overturned Stephen Maguire’s two-frame advantage going into the final session of this year's Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open by winning six out of the last seven frames to earn a 9-6 win and retain the trophy he won twelve months ago.
Maguire had the best of the afternoon play, outplaying the world number one at Newport Centre.
In fact, if it had not been for a kick on a black in the final frame before the end of the session, Maguire could have held a dominant four frames advantage in his search for a first ranking tournament title since winning the China Open in 2008.
He was never behind in the first session, cracking in breaks of 59 and 55 to take the opening frames before Higgins replied with a 120 break in frame three.
As the two Scotsmen battled it out in the frame before the mid-session interval, Higgins was stuck in an awkward snooker and gave away three fouls to leave Maguire a chance he duly accepted clinching it with a break of 89.
And it looked like Maguire's dominance would take him to a three-frame lead when he struck 58 in the fifth only to sit and watch as Higgins replied with a 72.
The comeback was short-lived as a 76 and a couple of smaller contributions helped Maguire to extend his lead to lead 5-2.
Then came that kick when he had Higgins on the ropes. Maguire was on 15 but saw the black bounce up, leaving Higgins an opening that he took with a 70.
That kept Higgins alive at 5-3 and two frames down as 6-2 down would have meant Higgins having to perform another rescue operation as he did in winning the UK Championships against Mark Williams in December when 9-5 behind.
Both players received a terrific welcome from the Welsh crowd at the start of the evening session and it was Maguire who started the brightest, opening an early lead thanks to a break of 52, only to lose position when looking set to increase his lead to three frames.
Higgins is renowned for his ability to win frames from hopeless positions, and that is exactly what he did, clinching the frame on the colours to move within just one frame of his close friend.
Frame ten must have felt like deja vu for Maguire as he once looked in control with a commanding 50-point lead only to see the triple world champion close out the frame to level the scores at 5-5.
In the next it would seem that a pattern was forming as the former UK champion went in front early on making 44 but failing to kill off the frame. Higgins clawed his way back into the frame with a run of 38 before taking the colours to move ahead for the first time in the match.
Once in front, Higgins was not about to let slip his hard fought advantage and when the chance presented itself in the next, he made a decisive break of 75 to lead by two at the mid-session interval.
When play resumed, Maguire seemed to have regrouped and made a 75 of his own to reduce his arrears to just one.
A break of 66 in frame 14 took the defending champ within one frame of victory which he sealed in the next thanks mainly to a solid break of 72.
