147 not enough for John Higgins as Kurt Maflin reaches quarter-finals at World Snooker Championship
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Updated 07/08/2020 at 08:36 GMT
Kurt Maflin won a gripping contest 13-11 against John Higgins to reach the quarter-finals at the World Snooker Championship.
Kurt Maflin
Image credit: Getty Images
A thrilling final session saw the momentum swing back and forth before Maflin won the last three frames to eliminate the four-time champion and beaten finalist for the last three years.
The result was even more surprising given Higgins had notched the first Crucible 147 in eight years in Thursday's early session.
Qualifier Maflin will face Anthony McGill or Jamie Clarke in the quarter-finals.
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'The win of his life' - Qualifier Kurt Maflin seals thrilling win over John Higgins
The Norwegian started the evening session positively, winning the first two frames to move 10-8 ahead.
But a missed red when he was 43-0 ahead in the 19th frame gave Higgins a chance that he seized upon, winning the frame with a break of 78 and then following up with the next two to move ahead.
Maflin got back on level terms, despite giving away 16 points in fouls in the 22nd frame, and then took advantage when Higgins missed a red into the corner to close on victory.
It looked as though Maflin might have blown his chance when, needing two pots to win the match, he missed a red to the middle. However, Higgins could not make it count and Maflin finished up at the next opportunity to secure a famous win.
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147 in full: Watch John Higgins' stunning World Snooker Championship maximum
'Phone calls at interval helped me'
Maflin, who was warned earlier in the competition for swearing at the cue ball, revealed that phone calls with his dad and wife during the interval helped him regain his composure from 11-10 behind.
"When I went 11-10 down, I just thought 'it feels like I’m going here'," he told Eurosport.
"So I just started thinking back on everything that’s been said to me, all the support, all the practice I've been doing. That’s what got me through.
"You’ve got to give it your best shot. If you get beat going for your balls, then you get beat. But I went for my shots and they went in."
Eurosport pundit Jimmy White now fancies Maflin to continue his winning run in Sheffield against McGill or Clarke in the last eight.
"That was a proper match right to the end. That was a snooker classic," said White.
"He [Maflin] will be exhausted. He can relax a little bit now. If he keeps up this form he’s going to be very hard to beat."
Selby level with Noppon
Mark Selby and Noppon Saengkham will start their final session on level terms at 8-8.
After losing four in a row to finish the first session, Selby won the first three in the evening to move 6-5 ahead, including a break of 120.
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World Snooker Championship: Mark Selby makes 120 break against Noppon Saengkham
Noppon won the next two frames to regain the advantage but failed to finish the session on top.
An 83 break from Selby was followed by 105 from Noppon in the 15th frame. Noppon then looked set to win the last frame with a 21-0 lead and the balls split, only to miss a routine red and allow Selby in.
The match resumes at 2.30pm on Friday.
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