John Higgins makes 'outrageous' fluke as snooker star left scratching his head
The Scot was bemused by his own luck.
Even legends of snooker need a bit of luck every now and again. Four-time world champion John Higgins got just that in the opening frame of his match in the Players Championship today against Guodong Xiao.
With no points on the board for either player, Higgins attempted to sink a long red. He was a considerable way off, though, with the ball cannoning off two cushions before heading at an angle back towards the centre of the table. To the surprise of the Scot, the ball collided with another red - inadvertently knocking it all the way into the top right-hand corner.
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You would have thought, at 49, that Higgins would have seen it all. However, even he was left scratching his head as he tried to fathom what had happened, as the ITV commentary team aptly summarised the fluke shot.
“Well, for all his greatness, it also helps to have Dame fortune on your side,” said one. “As flukes go, that was one of the most outrageous I’ve seen all season.”
Unfortunately for the ‘The Wizard of Wishaw’, he wasn’t able to capitalise on his good fortune. In the best-of-11 encounter, Chinese player Xiao dominated the early exchanges to move into a 4-1 lead - before the icon reduced the deficit in the next frame.
The clash came just a day after Higgins came through a final frame decider in his first-round match with Chris Wakelin. After trailing 4-2, the Scot needed the final black to seal a 6-5 victory in a thrilling finale.
Higgins arrived in Telford buoyed by ending a four-year wait for a ranking title earlier this month. He beat Joe O'Connor 10-6 to claim the Weide Cup World Open in Yushan, China, ending a run of narrow final defeats.
It was his first silverware since the 2021 Players Championship, and he later declared the victory one of the most satisfying of his career. He is now back up to No.7 in the world rankings, having previously dropped out of the top 16.
