3.5.09

THE FINAL: HIGGINS V MURPHY

John Higgins has trod a precarious path to his fourth world final but has the class to finish the job and land a third Crucible title on Monday night.

The Scot looked down and out when he trailed rising star Jamie Cope 12-10 in the second round but raised his game when it mattered to come through a 13-12 winner. His quarter-final against Mark Selby was, in terms of quality and drama, the match of the tournament and he prevailed by winning the decider in one visit.

And Higgins played sensationally well to lead Mark Allen 13-3 after two sessions of their semi-final, even if he let things slip before scrambling over the line 17-13. “I went out leading 13-3 with no nerves on me but you need nerves to play well here,” he said afterwards.

Nerves are guaranteed for the final and Higgins has responded when put under pressure so many times that he must be backed to keep the butterflies at bay sufficiently to produce his best during the best of 35 frames showpiece finale.

Now 33, he has long been regarded as one of the greatest all round players snooker has ever seen. He mixes deadly safety with accurate long potting and heavy scoring. At times this makes him unplayable.

It could all have been different had his father, John senior, not taken him to a snooker club at the age of nine. Higgins took to the game immediately and by 15 was one of the leading juniors in the country. His first breakthrough was winning the under 16 title at the 1991 World Masters in Birmingham, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams en route.

The three all turned professional the following year and it was Higgins who first got his hands on the famous World Championship trophy. The manner of his 1998 triumph suggested he could bestride the sport in the all conquering way Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry previously had but, with O’Sullivan and Williams having emerged as regular title winners, the era had become so competitive that no one player dominated.

In 2001, Higgins became a father for the first time (he now has three children) and found family life more enjoyable than relentless practice. Therefore, it took him until 2007 to win a second Crucible crown but is looking sharp enough to capture another over the course of the next two days. He would be the oldest winner since Dennis Taylor, at 36, sank that black to beat Steve Davis in 1985.

Standing in his way is Shaun Murphy, seven years his junior and a player who possesses a formidable technique and, just as crucially, a rock solid temperament, even if he let slip a seven frame lead over Neil Robertson in their semi-final. Murphy has the self belief to beat anyone from any position. On his way to landing the 2005 world title he beat Higgins 13-8 in the second round and seemed immune to the unique pressure the intimate Crucible arena generates.

Publicity surrounding the break-up of his marriage does not seem to have affected him and even the boos of some spectators have not prevented him from sticking to his task. Not everyone warms to his persona but surely no true snooker fan can deny his talent.

He led Robertson 14-7 before the pressure told as the Aussie started to find form. Caught at 14-14, many players would have capitulated but Murphy immediately stroked in a century then breaks of 81 and 94 to clinch victory. This was an awesome response when put under the cosh.

Murphy has had a strange season. He lost his opening match in the first four ranking events before winning the fifth, the UK Championship. A couple of quarter-finals since suggested his consistency had returned and he has improved dramatically since falling over the line 10-8 against Andrew Higginson in the first round, hammering Marco Fu 13-3 and fighting past maximum man Hendry 13-11.

Both Higgins and Murphy are capable of keeping cool in the heat of the Crucible cauldron. They have played five times before with Higgins holding a 4-1 advantage. Significantly, though, Murphy’s sole win was that success at the Crucible four years ago.

There will only be one man left standing on bank holiday Monday and my feeling is for Higgins. He has had such an eventful championship that he almost seems destined to win it, probably in very dramatic circumstances.

If he does, as if there was any lingering doubt, he will enter the pantheon of the greats. Only Davis, Hendry and O’Sullivan have won three or more Crucible titles.

Perhaps he should have done so earlier in his career but that is only a reflection of how good a player he was and, indeed, still is.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do you say that higgins should have won more than 2 titles

he is not an underachiver

in my opinion ronnie should have won more and is the best underarchiver the game has seen

legoland from TFS said...

imo you are wrong

if higgins had applied himself in the 5 years or so after his first born, then he would have won more titles, and maybe more world championships. this even by his own admission.

ronnie is just a clown :);). there to "entertain" those with a low attention span of ALL snooker.

Jenna said...

Oh and nice article Dave. Its really wet my anticipation for the match.

Hope Higgins wins since from what you wrote hes one of the greats and a family man. Murphy is a good player but an odd character. Hope they both play at their best tho.

Its gonna be funny watching a match that takes two days! And I thought chess was the slowest game in the world. But at least snooker is 100x more exciting!

Cant wait!

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

ronnie is not an underachiever. he's just not that good.

just because people like to see his circus shots doesn't mean he is a better player. if you like it then you should watch artistic billiards or trickshots.

Matt said...

My heart says Higgins, my head says Murphy.

I just hope it's close so that I get good value for my tickets tomorrow!

Jenna said...

Oh lucky you Matt!

I saw this Ronnie guy play, seemed interesting to watch. Dunno why people are going on about it so much calling him a clown. Id rather watch him than Davis any day. Dont ppl want snooker to be entertaining even if it does not match ur high expectation of quality. In that case you could call most players rubbish if theyre not playing as well as Higgins at the moment.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

Jenna? Ronnie has played SHIT 60%-70% of the season. He shouldn't even have won the masters... it just happened Perry bottled on the decider

Jenna said...

Im not saying hes good or anything. My knowledge of snooker is still new so I dont know enough and havent seen old matches so cant compare him to others much. He did seem like being a good player but inconsistent missing some easy shots. But I did enjoy watching.

My point is that if ur calling Ronnie rubbish then why not say the same about most of the others? They may as well stay at home and let Higgins, Hendry, Davis and Murphy play. Is it because Ronnie has won 3 times in the past, so ppl have higher expectations on a champion?

Why not criticise that bald guy then (Ebdon I think), he lost. Also Marco Williams. Dont really understand why Ronnie is being singled out. What makes him different to those two? Has he cheated like Quinten Hand? Educate me pls.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

"ronnie is not an underachiever. he's just not that good."

have you ever watched him ?

the fastest max says it all

and even player consider him as the most talented player ever

Dave H said...

Just an idea, but shall we not make this into another 'I love Ronnie v I hate Ronnie' argument and concentrate instead on the world final?

Jenna said...

Do the players cues get worn out at the butt end? Most players drag them round on the carpet. I would take care of mine.

Also why is a snooker called a snooker when it means that snooker cannot really be played?

Nice brake by Higgins so far. But Shawn keeps coming back til when 10 snookers are needed so Higgins still needs more to be sure.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

fastest max? what does that have to do with anything?

since when is playing fast a special skill?

if this was the case then why aren't players like Robert Milkins, Tony Drago or Jamie Cope dominating the world of snooker?


pffff silly ronnie's fans who are so clueless and yet wont shut the hell up.

Jenna said...

I didnt think Ronnie played that fast, at least when I watched. But saw Tony Drago on the Jimmy White maximum on the red button and he was so fast and missed it looked a bit stupid. Its fine if ur fast and potting them all but if u miss it looks silly. But as the comentry yesterday said, Neil Robertson started playing a bit faster and started to be more fluent and natural. So I think fluency is the key not speed.

Jenna x

Jenna said...

Does anyone else think Murphy is a funny guy? He comes back to the table yesterday when 8 snookers are needed. He today just now would not concede the frame when hed lost it and Higgins looked at him waiting for him to give up. I dunno but to me thats a bit odd and almost unsporting making the other guy play on more and slowing up the game. Or is this one of the snooker ettiquete thing they go on about? If its one of those silly gentlemans rules then thats fine hes not done much wrong. Think its a bit old fashioned and slows the game when its not needed.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

Jenna why don't you join tsf?

Anonymous said...

Jenna

you are not doing a very good job in keeping up with what youve posted all over this blog in the last day or two.

it is quite clear you are not new to the game and are posting as if you are, to get a reaction.

sad though it is

Anonymous said...

Was thinking the same

Anonymous said...

I think Jenna is a wum but at least she's back at school on Tuesday.

Jenna said...

Whats all the strange comments about? Why am I not keeping up with what Ive posted? I am new to the game coz before 2 week ago I never bothered to watch it even tho my dad did. Obviously I knew some things from hearing on the telly and my dad even tho Im not concentrating. Also Ive played some pool and even tho Im rubbish I know a bit about it.

So whats the big deal? I obviously have some questions on the things I dont know. One of my friends she watches snooker but Im not spoken to her much since she moved otherwise Id ask her. Thought I found a nice site a few days ago and come on here to share my views and ask questions but guess its the typical internet thing with lots of arguing and mickey taking. Id mention maybe its coz Im a girl and younger that some of u guys dont have the patience or are annoyed but Id hope that wasnt the case.

Whats the big deal if I dont know everything about the game and ask questions. Thought ppl should be happy to welcome another fan. I love what Ive seen of the game so far and try to pick up as much as I can from the tv but obviously Its not aimed at youngsters is it? Its not my fault my dad didnt take me to snooker clubs or watched it with me from age 5, Ive got to start from somewhere.

And in reply to someone else, yes I may join that snooker forum. But ppl on there are prob gonna take the mickey like some do on here, Im having second thoughts now.

As Dave said can we not enjoy the snooker. If ur annoyed by me and think Im attention seeking then dont give me the attention and well both be happy. Thanks.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

Wum = Wind Up Merchant.

Anonymous said...

but you are contradicting yourself on many of your posts

i suspect, and many others do, that youre winding folk up. its not funny. you clearly know much more about the game than youre admiting to and that post is nothing more than trying to deflect attention from your muddled up points about yourself.

keep posting if it amuses you

Jenna said...

Well Im not aware of contradicting myself. Dont know what u mean. Only thing I can think of is coz Im new to snooker my opinion is changing all the time maybe but I havent noticed that myself really.

Ive learnt about the scoring and safetys and snookering etc from my dad. I think thats the hard bit coz I never bothered watching before coz it was too complicated i thought. Obviously I dont know about some of the other things. I see a blog website that I think might help with my questions so thats what Im doing. And on this blog I read stuff about getting kids watching and playing etc and the same on tv they say. If u just say my questions are winding up and not attempting to help at all then obviously young ppl wont understand or care about this game. Ill just wait for my dad to come back home and ask him since u all get so annoyed. Thought it was ok to ask some questions that might seem obvious or stupid to some on the internet since its not as if Im making a fool out of myself in public but its actually not that easy to face all these negative comment time and again taking the mickey out of what I say.

Ill try not to ask any silly questions about snooker on here then will just post my opinions if thats the rules of this place. Just dont have anyone else to discuss this with. Ur all probably annoyed Ive posted lots the last day but I thought this was a discussion place so thats what Im doing. Didnt know this was a serious place for serious people. Seems to me thats whats wrong with snooker. No wonder I only know 1 person my age who watches. Seems like some exclusive club you lot have here. Have seen ppl singled out and have had it done to myself on other forums and bebo, msn etc so its nothing new but thanks for ur help anyway.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

Mr Hendon, i thought you have the right as the site owner to screen off nonsensical comments - seems like there has been too much drivel flying about here.

Jenna said...

Wow I can now see why ppl say John Higgins is so good. Wow they were really good difficult shots and he cleaned up the table. Hope Murphy improves his game so we have an exciting final. Even tho Murphy did still play ok theres still a bit to go to get him to the level he was at the end of the Robertson match yesterday.

Jenna x

Anonymous said...

Anyway, Higgins is flying at the moment. Murphy had a nightmarish session 2 - 7-1 the scoreline to Higgins.

But still, i think we will go to Session 4 tomorrow. I cant see Murphy not mounting a fightback at all.

Jenna said...

Your probably right. Murphy has not seemed the type to give up whatever the score from what Ive seen so am sure he will win some. Hes a past world champion so would expect a big challenge from him.

Jenna x

Dave H said...

How about everyone just stops picking fights and enjoys the snooker?