John Higgins won the final three frames against world No. 89 Zak Surety to book his place in Saturday’s World Open final in Yushan with an epic 6-5 semi-final win.
Despite struggling for form and trailing throughout the match, the four-time world champion held his nerve with two composed 72 breaks in the final three frames helping him book his spot in a 57th ranking event final.
Surety will fly back to the UK wondering how he managed to lose a match that saw him produce breaks of 65 and 56 to lead 3-1 and 5-3 in his quest to become the lowest-ranked player to win a tournament in 32 years.
He also had chances to complete the victory in the closing three frames, but could not punish Higgins, who was well beneath his peak level of form despite producing breaks of 61, 113 and 94.
Higgins, chasing a first major title since 2021, punched the air after recovering from 41-0 behind in the decider as Surety was left to rue squandering several chances to continue his dream run.
The Scotsman will face Ali Carter or Joe O’Connor in Sunday’s best-of-19 frame final for the £175,000 first prize.
