World's best serve up treat

Higgins gets the better of O'Sullivan in Premier League classic

Last updated: 20th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

World's best serve up treat

Higgins: Invincible form

M Fu 5-1 S Hendry
J Higgins 4-2 R O'Sullivan
J Trump 4-2 S Murphy

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John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan dished up a treat in the final round of Premier League matches as they confirmed their places in the semi-finals on Sky Sports.

The pair went hard at it in the second of the night's matches, proving just why they are the two best players in the world, Higgins coming out on top 4-2 in a high-quality affair.

World champion Higgins, already through to the last four at the top of the table, was never behind after taking the first frame with a break of 72, and a run of 64 swiftly doubled the lead.

O'Sullivan responded with a quality clearance of 129 much to the delight of the Venue Cymru crowd, but Higgins hit back with a century of his own - a run of 107 giving him a 3-1 lead.

And he quickly secured victory on the night with a 119 clearance to leave O'Sullivan the consolation of the final frame, which he took with a break of 68.

The 'Rocket' had started the night requiring a single frame to ensure his passage into the semis, but that proved irrelevant when Stephen Hendry suffered a shock 5-1 defeat to Marco Fu in the opening match.

The Scot was expected to confirm his place in the last four but Fu was in control from the outset, and went on to secure his first victory of the campaign with his first century of the series - a run of 122 completing Hendry's misery in the final frame.

With Judd Trump already safely through to the semi-finals, it was left to opponent Shaun Murphy to win the single frame he required to oust Hendry from the top four in the table.

And the former world champion did just that in the very first frame of the final match, sealing it on the final black to complete the last four.

However, he added just one further frame as Trump collected a 4-2 triumph to retain second place in the table, earning a date with O'Sullivan in the last four, while Murphy will face Higgins in the other semi.