JOHN HIGGINS’ bid for the inaugural Coral Scottish Open title came to an end in heartbreaking style as Marco Fu won eight frames in a row to nick the tile from his grasp in Glasgow.
The world No.3 was 4-1 up in a dominant opening in the Emirates Arena, but three successive winning frames meant Fu ended the first session level – despite Higgins having appeared to be in total control.
Come the evening, the missed chances came back to haunt the Scot. Fu reappeared with a new-found confidence and produced some sensational snooker at the Emirates Arena to become the first man to lift the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
It was Higgins who started in almost unmatchable form, showing the quality of snooker that launched his own comeback from 5-1 down to overhaul Judd Trump to reach the final.
Opening in style, he made the most of just one missed red to punish Fu with a break of 126 keeping his opponent on the back foot.
Higgin’s magical display showed no signs of letting-up and Fu looked rattled when missing a simple black with an unusual stroke of aggression from a man considered to one of the coolest players in the sport.
By the time the Glasgow man had made yet another century in the third frame, Fu was firmly on the ropes, with Higgins becoming the first man to open a ranking event final with three centuries in succession to go 3-0 to the good.
Any fears of a procession were quickly thwarted however, Fu showing the form that had seen make the most centuries in the competition, responding with his own of 106 to get on the board by the mid-session interval.
The absorbing contest showed no signs of slowing down, Higgins restoring his three-frame lead with a 78, but from there the momentum completely shifted towards the world No.14, as Higgins missed a chance to go 5-1 ahead.
The damage was not done there however, with extraordinary back-to-back safety shots leaving the Scot little chance and just one frame up.
The lead was quickly eradicated with a second successive 50-plus break and Fu returned to the dressing room in obvious delight as he ended the afternoon session at parity.
Come the evening session, both players looked fraught with nerves early on, each feeling their way into the session with short visits to the table.
Much has been made of Fu’s inability to add to his two ranking titles given his talent, but it seemed to be coming to the fore in Glasgow.
But what followed was, at times, mesmeric, Higgins chasing a needed snooker before eventually conceding the frame in an enthralling battle, Fu leading the match for the first time at 5-4.
Despite playing one of the shots of the tournament to escape on the brown, the 38-year-old powered on, extending his lead to two frames, with his bid for more cut short by a missed red into the middle pocket.
He was not to be denied though, Higgins missed the decisive black as Fu went three frames clear, moving to within one frame of victory in dominant style to give Higgins no chance in the 12th frame.
His lead was to hold, breaking with 60 to put himself on the brink, and while he missed tournament ball, Higgins fouled the pink to miss out on the Stephen Hendry Trophy – the title named after his snooker hero when he was growing up.
Watch the Scottish Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds
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