John Higgins last night got his revenge against Mark Williams who beat him in the world championship semi-final last season and said "that's a weight off my mind". Higgins easily overcame the world champion and world number one 10-4 in the final of the Liverpool Victoria UK Championship in Bournemouth to collect the £78,000 first prize. "Mark's beaten me in the last couple of games and losing to him in the world championship semi-final last season is a blow that I will never get over. So, it was nice to put one over on him again," Higgins said afterwards.
"I was delighted with the start I made and that helped settle me down. After that it was just a question of picking off the frames and getting over the line. I would have shot myself had I lost that match after being 9-2 up, but in the end I was beginning to get nervous. Hopefully this will set me up for the rest of the season," the Scot added.
A large share of the prize money will go towards funding Higgins' wedding to his fiancee Denise Whitton and their honeymoon later this month. However, Higgins has more than his up-coming nuptials on his mind. "We've got our dress rehearsal on Tuesday and then I go to Shenzhen on Thursday for the China Open. Hopefully, I can have a good run there but win or lose I will probably stay out for a couple of days and get some sun on my back," he explained.
Williams, the pre-match favourite, was clearly disappointed with the manner of his defeat. "I got slaughtered from the first frame to the last. John must have been playing well because not many players have given me a roasting like that. Maybe if I had got it back to 9-5 or 9-6 I would have stood a chance, but John was just too good," he admitted.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
