John Higgins extended his winning streak to eleven matches with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of John Parrott to earn a place in the last 16 of the £600,000 LG Cup at Preston’s Guild Hall. Entering the arena after Ronnie O'Sullivan's rapid 5-0 whitewash of Jon Birch, Higgins was immediately into his stride and required only 77 minutes to brush past his veteran rival with a hat-trick of century breaks.
After the first frame Higgins put together a 114 break and further contributions of 51, 131 and 66 pushed the 25-year-old from Wishaw into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval. Parrott captured the fifth frame after Higgins missed a couple of reds early on, but the Regal Scottish Masters and Stan James British Open winner eased through with a 109 break in the final frame.
Understandably brimming with confidence after becoming the first player ever to win the opening three events of a season, Higgins continued his bid for a four-timer and the £82,500 first prize. Higgins goes forward to face Mark King, who he thrashed 6-0 in the semi-finals of the British Open two weeks ago and leads 9-1 in career meetings.
Filed by Shane Murray
