Caz
8th May 2007, 10:03 AM
Nine years after his first World Championship victory, John Higgins finally - in more senses than one - laid his hands on a second at 12.54am this morning after beating Mark Selby 18-13 in a final here that will require several sections of the record books to be rewritten.
Their epic match concluded two minutes later than last year's final between Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon, which itself set a new mark for the stamina of the players and audience alike, eclipsed only in the early hours today.
Higgins arrived here yesterday afternoon for the conclusion of his showdown against Selby with a 12-4 overnight lead and knowing that nobody had ever let slip such an advantage.
But having resumed play as the hottest last-day favourite in history - the 31-year-old from Wishaw was 1-25 before a ball was hit - he spent most of the next three hours with his bottom on his chair and his head in his hands. Selby whitewashed the first six-frame session to claw back to just 10-12 behind and set up the possibility of the most astonishing comeback in the history of the game.
When evening played restarted after 8pm, the pair shared the first four frames of the evening for 14-12 to Higgins. But with the pace of play soporific, mainly down to Selby's extreme thinking time and no breaks over 62, the mid-session interval did not arrive until gone 10 o'clock.
Ebdon was lambasted - unfairly - for slow play last year. It is just his style. Neither is Selby vindictive. But with an average shot time of more than 30 seconds, against Higgins's 22 seconds, Higgins was up against it in more ways than one.
The BBC, which dictates session start times, will surely need to consider 2pm and 7pm session starts, at least, for the final day after this.
The fifth frame of the night session - the 27th of the match - lasted a marathon 55 minutes, which included a safety battle over the yellow that alone ran for 20 minutes. Selby edged that one to leave it 14-13 in Higgins's favour. Higgins took the next three for 16-13 approaching 12.40am this morning, then hit a 129 for 17-13. It was the 68th century of the tournament, equalling the record from 2002. Higgins wrapped up the match with a break of 78.
The afternoon should have seen eight frames played but was curtailed at 6.25pm to six frames because of the slow rate of play, and because the finalists needed dinner. Selby had already feasted on the baize, and put himself in the record books by that point for two achievements.
By hitting a 109 break in the second frame of the day, he reached 12 centuries for the tournament. Only three other players have made as many as that in one year here: Stephen Hendry hit 16 tons in 2002, Higgins hit 14 in 1998, and Ronnie O'Sullivan hit 13 in 2004.
In Crucible finals, only two players before yesterday had whitewashed a session. Steve Davis did it against Dennis Taylor, 7-0 in 1985, then John Parrott did it, 7-0 against Jimmy White in 1991.
Selby, 23, the "Jester from Leicester" who smiled his way through an exhausting tournament, had played brilliantly at times to earn his shot at glory. Five centuries against Ebdon in the second round was one highlight, as was a stirring comeback in the semis against Shaun Murphy.
Higgins seemed oddly edgy from the off yesterday, despite his lead. With nothing to lose, Selby cranked up the pressure frame by frame.
Higgins took a 36-0 lead in the opener but let Selby in by missing a plant while splitting the pack. Selby hit a 29, and then after some safety and errors by both, a frame-clinching 34. Selby's 109 in the next made it 12-6.
Higgins built a fragile advantage in the third frame, inching to 36-0 during multiple visits to the table. A missed red let Selby in for an excellent break of 65, full of missable pots that all sank. 12-7.
In the next, a Higgins miss let Selby in again for a break of 62 before Selby missed a red. Higgins played safe but Selby roared back in with a fabulous long pot and an 11 for a 73-0 lead. Then he snookered himself. He escaped after one foul and Higgins tried another snooker. Another Selby bullet pot put him over the line for 12-8.
Breaks of 20 and 42 made it 12-9 after Higgins had gone in-off trying a safety and Selby swept in on a middle-distance red. The final frame of the afternoon lasted 45 minutes and went to the colours. Higgins missed the crucial blue to give Selby everything to play for, however slowly, and however futile. Higgins, appropraitely, is guaranteed to be the World No1 next season, seven years after he last held that lofty status.
World Championship (Sheffield) Final: J Higgins (Sco) beat M Selby (Eng) 18-13. Frame scores: 73-25 58-32 19-95 25-76 (67) 10-132 (116) 97-0 (97) 98-11 86-5 75-0 (75) 85-9 (70) 101-24 (100) 70-61 59-75 (Higgins 58) 98-0 78-55 (Higgins 53) 116-0 (106) 36-73 0-110 (109) 36-65 (65) 4-74 (62) 0-66 48-72 81-40 63-70 75-2 22-82 54-77 71-33 57-43 (57) 129-1 (129) 78-1 (78).
Their epic match concluded two minutes later than last year's final between Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon, which itself set a new mark for the stamina of the players and audience alike, eclipsed only in the early hours today.
Higgins arrived here yesterday afternoon for the conclusion of his showdown against Selby with a 12-4 overnight lead and knowing that nobody had ever let slip such an advantage.
But having resumed play as the hottest last-day favourite in history - the 31-year-old from Wishaw was 1-25 before a ball was hit - he spent most of the next three hours with his bottom on his chair and his head in his hands. Selby whitewashed the first six-frame session to claw back to just 10-12 behind and set up the possibility of the most astonishing comeback in the history of the game.
When evening played restarted after 8pm, the pair shared the first four frames of the evening for 14-12 to Higgins. But with the pace of play soporific, mainly down to Selby's extreme thinking time and no breaks over 62, the mid-session interval did not arrive until gone 10 o'clock.
Ebdon was lambasted - unfairly - for slow play last year. It is just his style. Neither is Selby vindictive. But with an average shot time of more than 30 seconds, against Higgins's 22 seconds, Higgins was up against it in more ways than one.
The BBC, which dictates session start times, will surely need to consider 2pm and 7pm session starts, at least, for the final day after this.
The fifth frame of the night session - the 27th of the match - lasted a marathon 55 minutes, which included a safety battle over the yellow that alone ran for 20 minutes. Selby edged that one to leave it 14-13 in Higgins's favour. Higgins took the next three for 16-13 approaching 12.40am this morning, then hit a 129 for 17-13. It was the 68th century of the tournament, equalling the record from 2002. Higgins wrapped up the match with a break of 78.
The afternoon should have seen eight frames played but was curtailed at 6.25pm to six frames because of the slow rate of play, and because the finalists needed dinner. Selby had already feasted on the baize, and put himself in the record books by that point for two achievements.
By hitting a 109 break in the second frame of the day, he reached 12 centuries for the tournament. Only three other players have made as many as that in one year here: Stephen Hendry hit 16 tons in 2002, Higgins hit 14 in 1998, and Ronnie O'Sullivan hit 13 in 2004.
In Crucible finals, only two players before yesterday had whitewashed a session. Steve Davis did it against Dennis Taylor, 7-0 in 1985, then John Parrott did it, 7-0 against Jimmy White in 1991.
Selby, 23, the "Jester from Leicester" who smiled his way through an exhausting tournament, had played brilliantly at times to earn his shot at glory. Five centuries against Ebdon in the second round was one highlight, as was a stirring comeback in the semis against Shaun Murphy.
Higgins seemed oddly edgy from the off yesterday, despite his lead. With nothing to lose, Selby cranked up the pressure frame by frame.
Higgins took a 36-0 lead in the opener but let Selby in by missing a plant while splitting the pack. Selby hit a 29, and then after some safety and errors by both, a frame-clinching 34. Selby's 109 in the next made it 12-6.
Higgins built a fragile advantage in the third frame, inching to 36-0 during multiple visits to the table. A missed red let Selby in for an excellent break of 65, full of missable pots that all sank. 12-7.
In the next, a Higgins miss let Selby in again for a break of 62 before Selby missed a red. Higgins played safe but Selby roared back in with a fabulous long pot and an 11 for a 73-0 lead. Then he snookered himself. He escaped after one foul and Higgins tried another snooker. Another Selby bullet pot put him over the line for 12-8.
Breaks of 20 and 42 made it 12-9 after Higgins had gone in-off trying a safety and Selby swept in on a middle-distance red. The final frame of the afternoon lasted 45 minutes and went to the colours. Higgins missed the crucial blue to give Selby everything to play for, however slowly, and however futile. Higgins, appropraitely, is guaranteed to be the World No1 next season, seven years after he last held that lofty status.
World Championship (Sheffield) Final: J Higgins (Sco) beat M Selby (Eng) 18-13. Frame scores: 73-25 58-32 19-95 25-76 (67) 10-132 (116) 97-0 (97) 98-11 86-5 75-0 (75) 85-9 (70) 101-24 (100) 70-61 59-75 (Higgins 58) 98-0 78-55 (Higgins 53) 116-0 (106) 36-73 0-110 (109) 36-65 (65) 4-74 (62) 0-66 48-72 81-40 63-70 75-2 22-82 54-77 71-33 57-43 (57) 129-1 (129) 78-1 (78).