Selby edges past Higgins to reach Welsh Open semis

Welsh Open Snooker

Venue: Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Date: 10-16 February

Mark Selby edged a cagey Welsh Open quarter-final with a 5-4 win against John Higgins in Llandudno.

There was a brief interruption when Englishman Selby was leading 2-1 as a spectator became ill in the audience, though they were later declared clear of any serious issue.

Five-time champion Higgins then levelled at 2-2 before the Scot won a third successive frame to lead for the first time.

Four-time world champion Selby took the next two frames to reclaim the lead, but Higgins again levelled to send a tense, drawn-out contest to a final frame.

“If one of us had played better, the other might have raised his game. The only positive for me is that I got over the line and I can only improve tomorrow.

“If I had lost I would have been gutted, but now I can put that behind me.”

The nature of the Selby-Higgins encounter led to a delayed start for the second quarter-final, in which Jackson Page was taking on Belgium’s 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel.

Selby’s semi-final opponent will be Brecel, the man who beat him in the final of the World Championship two years ago at the Crucible in Sheffield.

Brecel beat Page – who was the last surviving Welshman in the competition – 5-2 after they had been level 2-2 at the mid-session interval – with the Belgian player securing breaks of 94 and 76 to seal his place in the last four.

Scotland’s Stephen Maguire – the Welsh Open winner in 2013 – sealed his place in the last four with a 5-3 victory over England’s Jack Lisowski.