John Higgins edges past Jamie Burnett in quarter-final of Scottish Professional Snooker Championship
World Number One, John Higgins, secured a convincing victory over Jamie Burnett, as he stormed past him with a 5-1 game-score in the quarter-final clash of the Scottish Professional Snooker
Championship, on Monday, April 11, at the Lucky Break Snooker Club in Clydebank, Glasgow.
The 35-year-old Scotsman will meet veteran, Stephen Hendry, in the semi-final of the event.
The former three-time world snooker champion, Higgins, grabbed a comfortable victory over compatriot Burnett and warmed himself up for the Crucible battle at the end of this week.
Higgins, who is famous for his outstanding break building skills, played offensive snooker from the beginning to unsettle his opponent. Burnett watched most of the match sitting on his
seat while Higgins dominated the table from the start. Higgins took the scrappy first frame, firing decent small breaks to build a frame score of 94 in the end to lead the game 1-0.
The cueman from Lanarkshire, Burnett, bounced back in the second frame and outplayed his compatriot to level the game at 1-1. Burnett then made a few mistakes in the third frame. Higgins
took advantage of those errors and restored his one-frame lead at the end of the frame with 2-1.
Higgins, who will turn 36 next month, was in total control over the game as he moved on with proceedings and clinched the fourth frame making 79, with no reply on the score board. Higgins
continued his attacking game-play after the interval, as he grabbed the scrappy fifth frame hitting an outstanding 87 break to move within a three-frame lead at 4-1.
Scottish ace, John Higgins, needed only one frame to grab a convincing victory and cruise into the semi-final clash. An impressive break of 47 from Higgins in the sixth and last frame
finished the game in his favour.
Burnett was disappointed with his performance in the match, as he missed several long potting shots and even failed to settle in the game. He said that one needs to play good against a
quality player like John Higgins and if he does not do that, he gets punished.
He also regretted upon not capitalising at the time Higgins made some mistakes, which eventually became one of the causes of his defeat. The score would have been different if he had taken
those chances.
On the other hand, Higgins was quite happy with his win in the quarter-final. He thought that the match would end after a tough fight, but it did not happen and a 5-1 victory felt great
to him. He also admitted the mistakes he made in the beginning of the match, but somehow he managed to control his cue later on and pocket some good breaks.
John Higgins will now face Stephen Hendry in their semi-final clash. Hendry, who stormed into the top-four after beating Alan McManus 5-2, is excited about the match against Higgins and
added that the atmosphere in the arena would be great.
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