Higgins punishes O’Sullivan’s mistakes in Crucible battle

Three-times winner Higgins had trailed 8-5 at one point but then reeled off eight of the next 10 frames to secure a 13-10 quarter-final victory.

O’Sullivan said: “John played well. It was a tough game to be involved in. I had enough chances to win it but just didn’t take them.”

O’Sullivan has had a poor season, but had rediscovered some form at the Crucible.

“I need a bit of time but I’ve enjoyed my matches here and felt better during this tournament than during the whole season so there’s positives to take out of it I suppose,” he said

“My game is just not up to the level I believe it needs to be to win matches. I’ve made some improvements in certain areas but it’s too early to start analysing it. I hadn’t won a match since September so coming here I didn’t know what to expect. To come through two rounds is okay but it’s never nice to get beaten.”

Higgins will play Mark Williams after he reached his first semi-final for eight years after a 13-5 win over Irishman Mark Allen.

Higgins said: “At 8-5 down I thought I was on my way out of the tournament because Ronnie’s the best front-runner we’ve got. You can forget it sometimes. So it was lucky for me he missed a few he wouldn’t normally miss.

“As people say, you’re only halfway there now, so playing Williams now will be a very tough game.

“He’s beaten me twice before in semi-finals here, and he’s back to playing the way we all know he can play.

“That’ll be just like a final because there’s only one less frame than the World Championship final, and it’s something to look forward to.”

Judd Trump cruised into the last four after a 13-5 win over 2006 champion Graeme Dott and admits he is ‘feeling invincible’.

“It was a bit easier than I thought it would be,” said Trump, who had already beaten champion neil Robertson. “He didn’t play badly but I didn’t give him a chance to get into the match.

“I felt if he got in front then it would be a really tough game so I had to play well early on and put the pressure on him.

“I feel invincible now and that’s a good feeling to have but at any stage anyone left could beat me 13-3 or 13-4 as the standard is so good.

“But I could also do the same to the rest of the players.

“I’m keeping focused and not getting carried away but I’m getting closer.

“I thought today could be a test if Graeme had came back at me as I’ve never been in that position when I had a nine or 10 frame lead cut to three or four so I knew I had to finish it quickly.”

Judd will play Sheffield-based Ding Junhui after he saw off Mark Selby 13-10 in a thrilling match.

The Chinese potter held off a spirited fightback from Selby to clinch his first Crucible semi-final.