Four-time champion John Higgins expects a stern challenge from Jack Lisowski in their last-16 tussle at the World Championship in Sheffield. The Scot held off a spirited performance from Crucible debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to win 10-7 in his opening match. Higgins suggested the Thai player was perhaps guilty of going for ‘one shot too many’ at times, owing to his youthful exuberance. With the game evenly balance at 7-6, Un-Nooh allowed Higgins to get off the hook. “Thepchaiya maybe goes for one shot too many, but he’s brilliant to watch and I’m delighted to win 10-7,” he said. “I knew he would hit me with maybe three frames where I wouldn’t get a shot. At 7-6, he took his eye off a red when he had me in all sorts of bother. I let him in but he missed the red when all the balls were there. I managed to get a two frame advantage again and that settled me down.”
Victories at the Indian Open and the Welsh Open this season have taken Higgins’ tally of ranking tournament wins to 30 in his outstanding career. Having led the final in Sheffield 10-4 last season, the veteran Scot was on the end of a tenacious Mark Selby comeback, going down 18-15. Lisowski is next up for Higgins and the latter expects a tough battle against a player that has developed his own game by modelling on the world’s best. “It’s as if I’m playing an upgrade on Thepchaiya in the next round. A few years ago Jack Lisowski was maybe going for a shot too many, but he’s cut that out now,” added Higgins. “I believe he practices a lot with Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan, so if you don’t round your game to compete with those guys on the practice table, all you’ll be doing is picking balls out of pockets. He’s obviously learning off those guys, and he’s a totally different player now.”
Higgins is 3/10 favourite to defeat the world number 30, with Lisowski 5/2 to net his biggest Crucible win so far. The Scot is 17/2 to come through on a 13-7 scoreline.
Snooker odds available at Dafabet.