In a thrilling World Snooker Championship semifinal that had fans on the edge of their seats, John Higgins saw his hopes for a ninth final appearance slip away in a dramatic 17-15 loss to Shaun Murphy at the Crucible. The 50-year-old Scottish legend was full of praise for his opponent, declaring that Murphy "hits it like God" after the Englishman's stunning performance.
The match was a rollercoaster from start to finish. Murphy, 43, showed incredible resilience by overturning a two-frame deficit not once but twice in the final session. Just when it looked like the match was heading for a nail-biting decider, Higgins missed a crucial black on a break of 50, handing Murphy the opportunity to seal the victory at his second attempt.
"The way Shaun hit the ball in that session was incredible," Higgins told BBC Sport. "He just hits it like God. I'm disappointed, but what can you do? As you get older, your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match. But take nothing away, Shaun was awesome and he's got a great chance of going on to win it for a second time."
The final session began with Murphy trailing 13-11, but he came out firing with two total clearances to level the score. Higgins, ever the warrior, dug deep to win the next two frames and restore his lead. However, Murphy's fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval. As Higgins began to miss some routine balls, the Englishman shifted into overdrive, winning four consecutive frames to seal the victory.
Murphy will now face China's Wu Yize in Sunday's final, after the young star benefited from a dramatic moment when Northern Ireland's Mark Allen missed a simple black that would have secured his win, ultimately falling 17-16.
"I just came out today knowing, if I got my chances, I could score," Murphy said. "At the interval, I was just saying to myself, 'you've done it before, now you can do it again.' But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out there, the tougher he gets and the better he plays. If I'm half the player when I'm in my 50s, I'll be very proud."