Scottish Open snooker 2021: 'Some of it was special' - John Higgins admits he had run of balls against Ronnie O'Sullivan

ByAlex Livie

Updated 11/12/2021 at 21:02 GMT

“I did get a bit of the run of the ball, some of it was special,” Higgins said in the Eurosport studio. “But you take them as sometimes it does against you. “I was thinking it is maybe better to be 3-1 than 4-0, as when you go 4-0 you think ‘it’s mine to lose now’ whereas at 3-1 I was focused as if it was a 50-50 game."

John Higgins admitted he had the run of the balls in his win over Ronnie O’Sullivan, but was delighted with how he secured the 6-1 victory to reach the Scottish Open final.

The Scot was a shade below par at the start of the week, but produced some electric snooker to come back and beat David Gilbert in the quarter finals - and carried that momentum into his meeting with O’Sullivan.

He was comfortably the better player, but took his chances that came his way in ruthless fashion.

Scottish Open

Sam Craigie forfeits against Ricky Walden at Scottish Open

00:05:44

|

02/12/2022 at 13:48

• Jimmy White questions O'Sullivan's cue-action comments
• It's criminal - Higgins unhappy with management of tables

“I did get a bit of the run of the balls, some of it was special,” Higgins said in the Eurosport studio. “But you take them as sometimes it goes against you.”

‘It feels terrible!’ – Foulds on ‘horrific’ error from O’Sullivan

Higgins felt he gained momentum from rallying from three frames down to beat Gilbert 5-3.

“I think it helped coming back against Dave,” Higgins said. “I felt I was beginning to hit through the ball a lot better, and I took it into today’s game.”

O’Sullivan won the fourth to cut the gap to 3-1 at the interval, and Higgins felt that helped him retain focus.

“I was thinking it is maybe better to be 3-1 than 4-0, as when you go 4-0 you think ‘it’s mine to lose now’ whereas at 3-1 I was focused as if it was a 50-50 game,” Higgins said.

Higgins was critical of the tables after his quarter final, saying they should be re-covered earlier in the tournament, but gave praise to those who redressed the table for the semi-finals.

“Conditions were incredible, so you have to give credit where it is due,” he said. “The table felt perfect and was beautiful to play on.”

- - -

Stream the Scottish Open and other top snooker live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live via Eurosport and at eurosport.co.uk

Scottish Open

Watch incredible overhead angle of Trump's magnificent 147 at Scottish Open

00:10:55

|

30/11/2022 at 10:40

Scottish Open

Maguire secures Scottish Open spot before Belfast trip

15/10/2022 at 09:15

Scottish Open

Un-Nooh overcomes Brown to qualify for Scottish Open, Vafaei advances

13/10/2022 at 08:47