Andrew Higginson set to meet Shaun Murphy in first round of 2011 Australian Goldfields Open: Snooker news
The new snooker season has proved to be lucky for quite a few snooker stars as they have made a decent run so far in their matches. One of those lucky ones is England’s Andrew Higginson, as he had a convincing Players Tour Championship (PTC) Event 1. His achievement in 2011 Australian Goldfields Open qualifiers was the icing on the cake when he qualified for the first round match against Shaun Murphy.
Higginson faced many first round exits from qualifiers of major ranking events last year. However, there were a couple of notable performances by the player as well. The potter from Cheshire made it to the final stages of Euro PTC and Championship League Snooker. Higginson will be hoping to improve his rankings further, to finish in the Top 16; he ended last season at number 25.
The 33-year-old made a fair start in the 2011-12 snooker season with a convincing run in PTC Event 1, followed by success in the qualifiers for the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open, being played at World Snooker Academy in Sheffield. He defeated Jamie Burnett 5-4 in fourth round qualifier and moved into Round 1 of the tournament against Shaun Murphy.
Speaking to an international snooker website, Higginson said, “I've not had a bad start. At the first PTC event I played Michael Wasley in the opening round. He's a very good player and pots them from anywhere. It was my first match of the season and first with my new cue so I just wanted to get a win under my belt. It was a tough game but I managed to win 4-3.”
He added, “I've played Shaun twice before: he beat me 10-8 on my Crucible debut in 2009 and 4-2 in one of the PTC events last season. I practise with him and he's unbelievable to watch - he hits the ball as well as anyone.”
Higginson is going to face the former World Snooker Champion, Shaun Murphy, in the first round of 2011 Australian Goldfields Open on July 18 at Bendigo Stadium arena. The match will be a thrilling encounter to watch in the first ever major ranking event in Australia.
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