John Higgins ‘sick’ after nightmare moment in Shaun Murphy Crucible defeat

John Higgins was left ‘sick’ with one shot he played in World Championship semi-final defeat to Shaun Murphy, admitting he was bitterly disappointed to fall short.

Murphy won the epic contest 17-15 after four sessions of intense competition, with neither player ever more than two frames ahead.

It looked destined to go all the way to a deciding frame, especially as the Wizard made 50 in the 32nd frame, looking good to take the match all the way.

The 50-year-old missed a black to end his break at exactly 50, allowing Murphy back in and the Englishman eventually got over the line and into the final.

The four-time champion was close to becoming the oldest ever finalist in any Triple Crown event, but that black will haunt him for a while.

‘It’s raw just now, the way it finished, I’m bitterly disappointed with that one shot on the black,’ he said.

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‘Right now I’m obviously sick at the way I finished that final black. That’s the overriding emotion I’ve got right now. Once you think of the season and some of the matches I’ve played here, I suppose you’ll be…I don’t know if the word is happy, but you’ll just have to see what happens.’

Speaking to the BBC, Higgins explained where the shot went wrong, saying: ‘Just very weak, the shot on the black there at the end, I know the pressure is on, but in the final session Shaun was punching and really going for it. I got lost a little bit at the end there. It’s understandable, it’s difficult.

‘I played the black so badly, it’s as if I was trying to steer it in at the end instead of trying to play it positively and stun it in.

‘It’s just what happens with your action, when you get a little bit older, it’s starting to break down at certain times and it broke down badly in that last frame there.’

While he was disappointed with that one shot, Higgins was thoroughly impressed by his opponent’s performance, especially in the final session of the match.

The Scot led 13-11 coming into Saturday, but Murphy made three centuries and a 78 on his way to victory.

‘Shaun, you can’t hit the ball better than that, the way Shaun hit the ball in the last session. It was incredible,’ said Higgins. ‘He hits it like God. Disappointed, but what can you do?’

Murphy repaid the compliment, saying of the Wizard of Wishaw: ‘John Higgins, what a player, what a man. The harder it gets out here, the tougher he gets, the better he plays. Would you give me a break?

‘What a player, what a competitor, what a man he’s been. If I’m half the player when I’m in my fifties as he is, I’ll be very proud.’

Murphy will now put his feet up and wait to discover if he is playing Mark Allen or Wu Yize in the final, with their semi-final locked at 11-11.

While the Magician is looking for his second world title in his fifth Crucible final, both Allen and Wu are bidding for their first trip to the showpiece in Sheffield.

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