John Higgins leaves snooker rival red-faced by beating player who branded him ‘sad’

John Higgins has won the Welsh Open a record five times and is into the semi-final of this week’s event

In the Welsh Open, four-time world champion John Higgins humiliated snooker opponent Mark Allen. Following Allen’s derogatory remarks about his opponent at the Masters last month, the Scottish star exacted his retribution.

Higgins, 48, has won 31 ranking tournaments in addition to his 1998 Snooker World Championship victory. Despite winning the Masters twice, the Scottish player has frequently struggled there.

After winning a close match 6-5 in the decisive set, Allen eliminated Higgins from the event last month, marking a record 15th first-round elimination. “He’s too good to be talking the way he is, because he’s one of the all-time greats; anyone would love to have a career like John’s,” Allen said to Eurosport after the game.

“Seeing him the way he is now is depressing.” Higgins has performed somewhat better in other competitions, making it to three semifinals this season entering this week’s Welsh Open.

The Scot defeated Allen 5-2 in his quarterfinal match, securing his spot in the final four. He was playing with outstanding form. Higgins said to BBC Sport, “I felt like I played a pretty good game. It was challenging to play on, and I felt that my style fit the table a little more than Mark’s.

“I’m happy since I beat such a skilled player in a fantastic victory. Wales is a fun place for me to be, and winning a sixth title would be incredible.”

“Today, I had trouble with the table and with technique,” he remarked. It’s unfortunate that things ended the way they did because I’ve played some passable music here this week. I wish I could blame my sore shoulder, but the truth is that I wasn’t up to par.”