Higgins holds off Selby in Crucible marathon
SHEFFIELD, England: Scotland's John Higgins held off a brave fightback from English qualifier Mark Selby to clinch his second world title with an 18-13 victory in a marathon final.
The match finished just before 0100 local time yesterday morning after Selby, 12-4 down overnight, fought back strongly at the Crucible.
He cut Higgins's lead to two frames at 12-10 after winning all six frames in the penultimate session before the players shared the first four of the evening.
Following a marathon 27th frame which lasted just under an hour, Selby moved to within a frame of Higgins at 14-13.
But he was unable to draw level and Higgins reeled off the next four frames to claim snooker's top prize, worth 220,000 pounds ($438,600).
"I was gone in the afternoon and Mark could have made it 12-12 if we hadn't been pulled off at 12-10," Higgins told reporters.
"It was a massive frame to clear up and make it 16-13."
Higgins, who won his first world title in 1998, expressed his delight at winning his second.
"To join people like Mark Williams and Ronnie O'Sullivan (in winning a second title) is a special moment for me," said the 31-year-old.
"When I won it nine years ago, I was blase about it because I thought I'd win it two or three more times, no problem. I'm definitely going to try and build on this."
Higgins, who is the new world number one, paid tribute to his 23-year-old opponent.
"Mark has done fantastic and he is a future world champion," Higgins said.
Selby admitted he was jaded at the start of the final after being pushed all the way in his semifinal against Shaun Murphy, which went to a deciding frame.
"I was tired from the day before and I think it was fatigue," Selby said.
"I had a good night's sleep and came in fresher. From 12-4 down, I thought I'd give it my best shot, but I knew John would not give in."
Selby reflected on the huge improvement in his game.
"Eighteen months ago, I wasn't playing that well and my mental state wasn't good," he said. "I've got the self-belief now to kick on."
Agencies
(China Daily 05/09/2007 page24)
