JOHN Higgins breathed a sigh of relief after reaching the second round of the Betfred World Snooker Championship with a hard-fought win against Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh last night.
It is 20 years since Higgins first won the title but he still looks a major threat after reaching the second round – where he will play qualifier Jack Lisowski.
Higgins’ tag as one of the favourites is a far cry from recent years – where he’s openly admitted he thought his days at the top were done.
However, a run to the final last season coupled with a consistent campaign in 2017-18 has catapulted the 42-year-old back among the reckoning.
But he will know that if he wants to make a serious run in the next fortnight then he will need to improve after making some uncharacteristic mistakes in his 10-7 win.
“I was lucky to be 6-3 in front, it flattered me after the first session. He had me in all sorts of bother later in the day too but he missed a few and I kept getting ahead,” he said.
“I think it helped me that I was playing later on in the week because if I was playing him on Saturday or Sunday I would have been in trouble because he still would have been on a high from qualifying.
“I am now playing an upgrade on Thepchaiya. Jack has learnt and he beat me in China recently.
“He makes the game look easy but I will enjoy it.”
Higgins started the match impressively, winning the first three frames comfortably, but Un-Nooh stayed in contention and the pair shared the final six – giving Higgins a 6-3 lead.
The Scot had seemed on for a 147 in frame seven but he broke down when on 104.
Un-Nooh came out in the evening fired up and two centuries in three frames helped him claw back to 7-6 at the mid-session interval.
But Higgins’ experience showed and he got over the line for the 20th time in the first round
Elsewhere, two-time winner Mark Williams eased through to the second round with a comfortable 10-5 win against Jimmy Robertson – before declaring he is ready to win the whole thing.
The Welshman has not lifted the title since 2003 but has won two ranking event titles this season, including the Northern Ireland Open in November.
And he believes he is back to his very best ahead of a second-round clash with Robert Milkins – who stunned Neil Robertson 10-5.
“I am coming here playing the best stuff I have played in many years. Whether I can win it, who knows,” he said.
“I definitely have as good a chance as anyone in the tournament.
“I hit two or three centuries in that match but I had luck too.”
Milkins will be an awkward opponent for Higgins after he outplayed Robertson in a one-sided encounter.
“I played well. I put a lot of pressure on Neil and it carried me on through the rest of the match,” Milkins said.
Watch the snooker World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.
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