Williams beats Higgins in quarter-final thriller

Mark Williams, a three-time champion, fought back to earn a 13-12 victory over John Higgins in the World Championship’s semi-finals.

As winner Williams rallied from each of the first four frames with three half-centuries before the game resumed at 8-8 on Wednesday, Higgins was initially left to rue costly misses in each of the subsequent frames.

Williams, 50, who was 5-1 up at the 20th frame as Higgins, a four-time champion, delivered a stirring response from 12-8 down, was largely confined to his chair after that.

The 49-year-old, who appeared to be struggling, found his rhythm and recorded breaks of 94, 114, and 67 to prepare for a dramatic conclusion.

Both players had chances to win a tight final frame, but when Higgins slammed the corner of the blue, the Welshman made it 2-0 before 52-year-old Ray Reardon in 1985.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, who defeated Si Jiahui in the other quarter-final on Wednesday morning, will take a 10-6 lead into the session’s closing round at 19:00 BST.

With a frame difference of 8-4 going into the mid-session period, “the Rocket” traded frames with world number 13 Si to advance to 6-2 overnight.

O’Sullivan, who is chasing a record eighth crown in the modern era, led 9-4 when Si missed a red in the middle when he was 43 points ahead with 43 remaining.

The 22-year-old from China, who had a century in the tenth frame, followed up with runs of 61 and 52.

O’Sullivan, however, showed that he had all of his experience before restoring a solid cushion by combining the 16th frame with a 64-frame break.