14.7.07

HIGGINS V WATTANA IN HONG KONG FINAL


World champion John Higgins will face Thailand's James Wattana for the £25,000 first prize in the Euro-Asia Challenge in Hong Kong.

Higgins topped his group before completing a 2-0 victory over Dubliner Ken Doherty in the semi-finals of the first professional tournament of the new season.

Wattana finished second behind Higgins in the group phase and defeated Hong Kong's Marco Fu 2-0 to reach the final.

Fu had beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan 2-0 in the round robin section to deny the twice world champion a place in the semis.

Stephen Hendry, persevering with his new cue despite a poor showing at the Crucible, lost 2-1 to China's Ding Junhui to finish bottom of his group after three successive defeats.

The tournament is the first of three being staged in the Far East this season. The Shanghai Masters takes place next month and the China Open returns to Beijing next March.

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