John Higgins whitewashes Jimmy White in semi-final of 2011 Premier League Snooker opening night
Scotland’s John Higgins played tremendously to outclass his opponent, the legendary Jimmy White, in their semi-final clash of 2011 Premier League Snooker on the opening night. The world champion has started his 2011 PartPoker.com Premier League campaign quite convincingly with a stunning whitewash victory over the former six-time World Snooker Championship finalist, Jimmy White, by 3-0.
Higgins made it look easy when he came at the baize under the South West Snooker Academy (SWSA) ceiling. The 36-year-old unsettled his English opponent completely during their encounter, as he smashed some superb knocks to nudge White three frames down in the best-of-five-frame semi-final clash in SWSA Gloucester.
The four-time World Snooker Champion had an easy first frame victory over the Englishman. He pocketed an impressive knock of 41 in the frame to clinch it easily by the score line of 61-36 and take an early 1-0 lead. Higgins went 0-5 down in the second frame before a miss from White brought him at the baize and he took the second frame by 105-5 with a superb century break of 105.
However, the third frame seemed a close encounter, as both cuemen tussled at the table. White was looking to add a digit to his side of the scoreboard while Higgins was ambitious not to drag the game into fourth round. In this brawl, White scored a rattling 39-point break but Higgins’ small clearance of 30 took him on top again and the Scot won the frame by 71-69 to go 3-0 up.
While speaking to the local media after his victory, the Wizard of Wishaw said, “Obviously, I'm delighted to win 3-0. I played a good frame with the 100 break but the other two were a bit scrappy. It's hard for Jimmy as he's not been on TV in the last few years but he's been playing well in qualifiers but it's tough to get used to TV lights.”
He added about White, “He's a great addition to league as the atmosphere he brings is fantastic. Overall though I'm pleased with the win.”
John Higgins has now reached the final match of the 2011 Premier League Snooker where he will be facing the Welshman Matthew Stevens, who triumphed over Australia’s Neil Robertson with a 3-0 whitewash victory.
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