John Higgins asked two fans to leave during his World Open win over Yuelong Zhou (Image: Eurosport)
gestured for two snooker fans to leave the Yushan Sport Centre during his World Open showdown with Zhou Yuelong on Wednesday.
Higgins was trying to put distance between himself and Zhou in the third frame, with the scores tied up at 1-1. Just as he was lining up for a shot, the four-time world champion appeared to be distracted by something he could see in the stands.
And he made a pointing gesture with his left hand, as if instructing someone to leave the venue. The camera then panned to two punters sheepishly making their way out onto the concourse before Higgins regained his composure and potted a red.
“Something is just putting John off away from the table,” said commentator Neal Foulds. “He is pointing the finger at those gentlemen, who have just decided they are going to have a little break, I suppose, for a while. Maybe an inopportune moment to leave.”
Higgins struggled through the match at times and fell 4-2 down in a first-to-five-frames contest. But he somehow pulled it back with consecutive breaks of 60, 74 and 72 to make it into his 146th ranking event quarter-final.
That draws him level with Ronnie O’Sullivan at the top of the all-time list, and the veteran Higgins wants at least one more to reach a poetic 147 before he retires.
John Higgins made it into his 146th ranking tournament quarter-final (Image: Getty)
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“I’ve had a good career and a long career and maybe that’s why I’ve managed to rack up some of those numbers,” he said. “I’m proud to still be going. I still love competing out there and I’d dearly love to win a big event. That’s what I’m trying my hardest to do.”
It could have all gone pear-shaped for Higgins, who admitted that one too many adventurous Chinese dishes had taken their toll.
“My stomach has been very bad,” he explained. “I’ve been enjoying the hot pots too many times. It probably relaxed my mind because I wasn’t even thinking about the match. I was thinking about not running to the toilet.
“It probably relaxed my mind, not thinking about the pressures of the game. Just the pressure of something else! No more hot pot. Nothing. Just bread and water.”
Higgins’ change of tack paid dividends on Thursday as he swept Pang Junxu 5-0 to book his spot in the semi-finals. He will be joined there by Zak Surety, who toppled Tom Ford, while the likes of Ali Carter, Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy are still to play in the quarters.