JOHN Higgins will face Judd Trump for a place in the inaugural Coral Scottish Open final after confidently easing past Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last eight.
‘The Wizard of Wishaw’ had been in scintillating form just to reach the quarter-finals in Glasgow, but kept his foot firmly on the gas to ease out the five-time world champion 5-2.
In truth, O’Sullivan was far from his usual threat, but Higgins’ clinical nature stood out on home tables, boasting an almost-unassailable 3-0 lead before closing out the match.
“Any time you beat Ronnie is a special result for you, he didn’t play near his best and gave me a few too many chances, but any victory over him is a great achievement,” said the world No.3.
“My all-round game was pretty good; my safety was solid and you need that when you play Ronnie just to be able to compete with him.
“You can play well and still not get over the line sometimes, but I made big breaks and took my chances when I needed to so it’s happy days.”
Breaks of 88 and a final-frame 104 provided the centrepiece for Higgins, though with Trump just a place lower in the rankings, a stern test is undoubtedly in store.
But it was hard work for the Englishman to reach Saturday's semi-finals, laboured in victory over Robert Milkins.
But despite making just one 50+ break in the match, a chance to face Higgins will provide an opportunity to restart for Trump in the afternoon session.
And with a chance to cause an upset in the Scots’ backyard, a spell as the party-crasher is certainly something firmly on the mind of the 2011 UK champion.
“It’s one of the occasions you’re in snooker for – a chance to play John in front of a big crowd, his home crowd, is going to be a great day for me,” he said.
“I think we’ll both play very well, there should be a lot of breaks and a lot of high scoring, but John is a very tough player – he’s been on an excellent run and done well in the competition.
“Alongside Mark Selby he’s probably the best in the world at present, but to compete alongside him I have to play well, certainly a lot better than I have done so far.
“It’s not been good, but with John a similar standard that usually frees me up to play well and that’s what I’m gunning for.”
The winner will be just one game away from becoming the first man to lift the Stephen Hendry Trophy come Sunday evening, where one of Liang Wenbo, Yu Delu, Marco Fu or Marc Davis awaits.
Watch the Scottish Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds
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