John Higgins broke his duck tonight when he won his first title on home soil with a convincing 9-6 victory in the Regal Masters over defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. The former world champion and world number one captured his second tournament win of the new season tonight and has O'Sullivan's tally of six title last season well within his sights.
"It's been a long wait but well worthwhile," said the 26-year-old of his first Scottish win. "To have my friends and family here to see me win makes it really special. I was really choked at the end. I looked up at Denise and she seemed to have a tear in her eye. And that made me fill up as well. But that's how much it means. It wasn't a great final but to be honest I don't really care," he added.
This result, his 22nd title win, ended a run of five consecutive defeats against O'Sullivan, including last season's world championship. Higgins began well, taking a 2-0 lead before O'Sullivan made a fightback. Breaks of 80, 117, 50 and 57 saw the Englishman turn his deficit into a 4-2 lead. He might have gone 5-2 up but missed a tricky final blue. Higgins then snatched the frame on the black and this marked a turning point in the match as he took seven frames out of the last nine. In the last two frames O'Sullivan did not even pot a ball as Higgins treated a sell-out crowd to further runs of 114 and 60.
"I might have beaten anyone else tonight other than John," said O'Sullivan. "But even in his bad spells he just sticks in there. He's so consistent though I didn't really give him a game. The scoreline may look close but 9-6 wasn't a fair reflection. John was so strong and I couldn't keep up."
O'Sullivan, has now lost two of last season's six titles but did pick up a consolation prize of £31,000 for his runners-up spot. He also received an extra £5,000 bonus for his semi-final high break of 134 against Marco Fu.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
