Ken Doherty is out of the Embassy World Snooker Championships, going down 13-6 to John Higgins at the quarter-final stage. Higgins fired four centuries and won three frames on either pink or black to seal the match, which was close at times. Doherty ends his season with earnings of £264,900.
Doherty took an early 3-1 lead at the Crucible, but Higgins stormed back and claimed the next four frames to finish the first session with a 5-3 advantage. Doherty won the first frame of the afternoon session to make the score 5-4. However, on-song Higgins made three century breaks by the end of the session, adding runs of 113 and 110 to his 139 as he extended his lead to 10-6, before this evening's crucial session.
Northern Ireland's Joe Swail has beaten his lifelong friend and practice partner, Patrick Wallace by 13 frames to 11. Swail's tournament so far seems to have been characterised by spectacular comebacks, and this game was no exception. Swail was losing 2-6 this morning, but he won five frames in a row during this afternoon's session to take a 9-7 lead. Wallace fought back bravely this evening to edge closer to his compatriot, but Swail retained his composure and won through in a tense encounter.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has claimed his semi-final spot with a convincing 13-6 victory over 12th seed Peter Ebdon. The bookies favourite went into this afternoon's session carrying a 12-4 lead. Ebdon knew that he could not afford to lose a single frame, and won the first two with half-century breaks. O'Sullivan remained cool and finished Ebdon off with a final half-century break of his own. Ebdon paid tribute to his opponent, saying: "Ronnie is very special. He's a genius - snooker's equivalent of Mozart."
Semi-final draw (best of 33 frames)
Joe Swail (16) v R O'Sullivan (4)
M Stevens (6) v J Higgins (2)
Filed by Greg McKevitt
