Higgins Stuns Williams in UK Classic!

Wow. Just wow. John Higgins is the 2010 UK champion following a quite unbelievable final against Mark Williams this evening. Not only that, but he is also back to top spot in the world rankings…

Click here to view the final rankings following this tournament.

John Higgins 10-9 Mark Williams

Having struggled to find anything like his best form throughout the tournament until now, Mark Williams came out of the blocks in fantastic form during this afternoon’s opening session and deservedly opened up a 6-2 lead.

John Higgins by contrast looked to be somewhat nervous and his fortunes did not appear to be changing this evening as he lost the opening frame to fall 7-2 behind. During the next few frames however he began to look more like his normal self, taking the next two to close to 7-4, before Mark then took the last before the interval to ensure that he would retain the four frame cushion that he began the evening with at 8-4.

Sharing the next two, Williams looked to be home and dry at 8-4, surely he would be able to take one of the chances that would come his way during the coming minutes?

John Higgins however is not one of the all-time great players for nothing and taking the next two frames to close to 9-7, began to apply some pressure on a player who has not won a BBC event for some seven years (no the Pot Black Trophy doesn’t count!), now.

Williams though was always going to have a chance and at 9-7, the chance came and it looked as though John had played his last shot of the tournament as Mark made light work of the reds. That was until frame ball and as the red wobbled in the jaws, John was presented with a chance to get right back into the frame.

He could not take it in one visit however and as Williams potted the last red to lead by 29 points with just 27 on the table it looked as though the hard work had been done as his wife and children watched on.

Quite unbelievably however, John having decided to play on for the one snooker needed managed to get it, Williams attempting to serve round the black could not quite get enough onto it, not only missing the yellow but then seeing the cue ball go in-off into the right-centre pocket leaving a chance for John to clear and reduce his arrears to just one frame, which he duly did.

A decider was on the cards now and as John levelled at 9-9, the crowd and everyone watching at home was wondering which way the match would go. John had to be the favourite now having taken four frames in a row but having levelled, to some extent the pressure was almost back on him again as he now had something to lose whereas at 5-9 he had absolutely nothing to fear.

Frame 19 was to prove suitably dramatic as it was Higgins who made the first decisive contribution, moving 53 ahead with 59 on to leave Williams with a mountain to climb. Mark though was able to get back to the table and you just wondered, could there be another twist in the tale? Could he clear to take a dramatic victory despite all that had gone before?

It was not to be as clearing up he not only managed to put the pink safe on the side-cushion (not ideal for a left handed player), but he also finished tight on the brown which meant that he could not pot it. With the pink safe though it was John who roused himself to play an audacious double across the length of the table. Having sunk that to leave Williams leaving a snooker, he then potted a stunning blue to seal the match and he knew it, celebrating with a fist pump reminiscent of that following his 2006 Masters victory.

All in all it was an incredible night of snooker and one of the best ranking event finals in many years, certainly the best of the last couple of seasons. For me it demonstrated once again that while it is important for snooker to have a variety of formats, you simply cannot beat the ebb and flow of the longer frame matches and the drama that can unfold when you have two quality players such as these two.

And what players they are, John Higgins now becomes only the fourth player to win this tournament more than twice and in doing so rounds off what has been a tumultuous year for him on a real high. As he himself said after the match, perhaps it was fate that he was to win this week given all that he has gone through and the unfortunate situation with his father. In pure snooker terms though, he once again demonstrated just why he is one of the best players in the world not just now, but perhaps ever and that he is the best in the business at producing the goods when he really needs to.

As well as taking another major trophy, the result also lifts John back up to top spot in the rankings ahead of Neil Robertson as the seedings are revised for the second time in the season.

For Mark Williams though the result will be a real kick in the teeth, indeed he looked absolutely shell-shocked when giving his post-match interview to John Parrott and understandably so having come so close to the title. In the cold light of day he will hopefully be able to take the positives from a week which has seen him back in the big time once again and also seen him move back up to number three in the world, but I would not be surprised to see him suffer a bit of a hangover now at the Masters. Indeed I have seen players lose in such a manner and not be the same again afterwards, but I think that Mark is too good not to be able to bounce back at some point soon.

The last word though should be about John Higgins, what a player.