Higgins sees off challenge of Trump to seal comeback

A tearful John Higgins completed the most amazing comeback last night to be lift the Betfred.com World Championship.

Twelve months ago he faced calls for a lifetime ban after being charged with frame-fixing. He was cleared of the charges, but handed a six-month ban for breaching rules over not disclosing the illegal approaches.

Since his return to the game, Higgins has lifted the UK Championship and Welsh Open before last night adding a fourth Crucible crown to his CV.

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Trailing 10-7 and 12-9 against rookie Judd Trump, Higgins had been outplayed for much of the tournament, but refused to lie down and eventually triumphed 18-15.

“Judd was the better player over two days, he was unbelievable,” said Higgins. “The amount of long pots he was potting was incredible. We have found a new sensation in the game. It has been an unbelievable tournament.

Trump had returned yesterday with a 10-7 overnight advantage and 35-year-old Higgins could count himself lucky to be still in touching distance after a poor Sunday, highlighted by the fact that 64 was Higgins’s highest score from the first two sessions.

It looked like he would overhaul that sorry stat in the opening frame yesterday, but on frame ball red he ended his break on 59. It didn’t challenge his high score, but it was enough to clinch him the frame as the pair shared the opening four.

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Higgins finally managed to beat his high score in frame 20, a 97 score which at one time looked like he could threaten the tournament’s biggest break of 138.

That accolade was shared, however, by Sheffield-based Ding Junhui and Mark King.

But 21-year-old Trump was not wilting under the Crucible spotlight, his stunning attacking play delivering breaks of 104 – his 10th century of the tournament – and 99.

Coming out of the afternoon mid-session interval leading 12-9, Trump would have been happy with his start to the final day’s action.

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But frame 22 was a major turning point in the match. Higgins was first in the points with a 47 break, before an error on a long red allowed Trump to sneak in.

He cleared the balls before attempting a tricky blue down the cushion, which he missed. It was typical Trump, attacking his first instinct and one which has got him to the final.

But against someone of Higgins’s calibre, it was a dangerous policy and this season’s winner of the UK Championship and Welsh Open downed the blue, but ran out of position on the blank.

His deft cut on the pink was successful, but also managed to nudge the black over the opposite pocket and from looking like he could be trailing 13-9 he was just 12-10 behind and the shackles were off.

Trump’s errors were now proving costly.

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Trump had a chance but a missed blue into the corner saw him stall on 35, allowing Higgins to nip in with a 93 clearance.

He then overcut the brown to allow Higgins – who came from 9-5 down in this season’s UK Championship to stun Mark Selby with a 10-9 victory – to knock in a 113 clearance to tie the scores at 12-12, before a 57 break nudged the Scot 13-12 in front.

The duo were greeted to last night’s final session with a standing ovation from a packed Crucible, and Trump made a promising start but was left cursing his luck when the white rolled in after potting a red on a 38 break. Higgins cleared to the pink with a 62 to pinch the frame.

After winning five frames on the bounce, Trump had to dig deep and breaks of 41 and 35 were enough to swing the next two frames his way to level at 14-14.

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Both players had chances in frame 29, Trump opened with a 42 before Higgins responded with a 44, before the latter snatched the lead again after his opponent left the black hanging over the pocket.

“Win or lose, what an atmosphere”, said Trump on Twitter at the mid-session interval, his popularity now meaning he has attracted over 25,000 followers to his online tweets.

Trump has sent messages on Twitter during games ever since his first-round win over Robertson and is part of his appeal to a younger generation of snooker fans.

Trump returned to the Crucible arena and after fluking a red, could count himself unlucky not to find an easier colour than a long black which he failed to drop.

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Higgins knocked in a 45 break, but left a teasing long brown which Trump was tempted to play only to leave the ball invitingly over the pocket and the Scot cleared up the colours to open up a two-frame gap at 16-14.

But the young pretender refused to give in, firing in a 70 break to cut the deficit and looked set in the next frame, but on 33 he slipped out of position on the reds when he left the white tucked in behind the pink.

Higgins delivered a clinical clearance of 50 and looked set, but a missed brown showed even after winning 23 ranking titles – third behind Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis on the all-time list – he is only mortal.

Trailing by 14 points, with just pink and black remaining, Trump was unable to eke out a snooker as Higgins edged towards the title at 17-15.

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Trump was first in the points in frame 33, a 36 break stalling on a missed pink but it handed him the initiative with Higgins needing a snooker.

Yet the drama was not over as, with just pink and black remaining, Higgins found his snooker with the pink tucked up on the cushion.

He then doubled the pink into the centre pocket and dropped the black to clinch victory and see off the amazing Trump.

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