Indian Open review: John Higgins beats defending champion Anthony McGill 5-1 in final

Snooker

Sat September 16, 2017 · 7y ago

Defending championJohn Higgins claimed a landmark 29th career ranking title as he thrashed fellow Scot Anthony McGill to win the Indian Open.

This latest success for 42-year-old Higgins takes him past Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the all-time list, which is headed by Stephen Hendry who claimed 36 ranking titles in his stellar career.

Defending champion McGill was no match for his practice partner in the final held in Vishakhapatnam.

Higgins, who moves up a place to number two in the world rankings behind Mark Selby, took a 3-1 interval lead and quickly finished the job when play resumed.

"It was a scrappy final - I was lucky that Anthony was nowhere near his best," Higgins told worldsnooker.com. "I didn't play great but I made things difficult for him.

"It's a great feeling to win a tournament because you don't know when your next one is going to come. I've had some tough games this week and it’s a short format so there’s a lot of pressure when you are favourite.

"Steve and Ronnie have both won more invitation events than me and I'm sure Ronnie will win more ranking events. But just to go above Steve, who was my hero growing up, is a feather in the cap for me. It’s an unbelievable feeling."