On 12 December 2021, the Scottish Open in Snooker came to an end in Wales. Higgins reached the final for the fourth time this season, and finally lost to Brechel 5-9, and had no choice but to close the fourth asia of the season, directly chasing O'Sullivan and Murphy's single-season five Asian records. This was higgins' second time in the Scottish Open final, missing the Stephen Hendry Cup again.
1. Final: L. Brechel 9-5 J. Higgins
Stage 1 (6-2): 71-33, 96(96)-0, 61-8, 0-91, 69(61)-21, 59-56, 46-76(70), 104(104)-0
Stage 2 (9-4): 79(79)-27, 98(64)-0, 5-97, 17-73(73), 25-63(54), 128(127)-0
After the final began, Higgins revealed that his form was not ideal in a confrontational game, and Brechel output normally, making it a perfect 3-0 start. Higgins then struggled to bring the score closer to 1-3 and 2-5, but several missteps and bad luck at key moments gave Brechel a 6-2 lead. The huge lead made Brechel more relaxed in the second stage, shooting a single 79 and 64 points to win the match point 8-2.
Higgins won the 11th set, successfully avoiding the biggest personal loss points difference in the two-stage final (he lost 3-9 to Davis in the 1995 Welsh Open final). In the 12th inning, Higgins scored a single 73 to force a final break. In the 13th set, Higgins hit 50+ again and scored a point in the following defensive battle to save the third match point and prove that he could be defeated, but he never gave up easily.
In the 14th inning, Brechel finally grasped the flaw left by Higgins' defensive mistakes, played a 128-point break, and beat Higgins 9-5 to win the championship. After the game, facing Higgins, who came forward to shake hands and congratulate, Brechel spread his hands and bowed in worship, showing the respect of his opponents.
2. The road to the final
3. The significance of winning the championship
Brechel won his second ranking title after reaching the ranking final for the fourth time in his career. Became the fourth post-90s player to win the ranking tournament more than once after Wilson, McGill and Little White. Brechel became the fifth player in history to lift the Stephen Hendry Cup. After this campaign, Brechel returned to the TOP16 after three years, and the fly in the ointment was that he could not participate in the Masters. Brechel moved up to second place in the single-season rankings and will be the second seed to the world grand prix that will follow.
Higgins, after reaching the final six times this year and the fourth time this season, finished fifth and fourth in the season, chasing the embarrassing record of five "winning" runners-up in a single season held by O'Sullivan and Murphy. Higgins reached the final of the ranking tournament 54 times in his career, achieved 31 championships and 23 asian results, continued to lead the ranking runner-up list, and was two asian distances away from O'Sullivan and Hendry behind him.
4. Bonus & Grade Sheet
5. Break the 100 list
In the main stage of the tournament, a total of 25 players shot a total of 39 to break the hundred, and Gilbert and Trump both shot 4 to break the hundred, becoming the player with the most hundred. The £5,000 highest single-shot award was taken away by Xiao Guodong, who scored his first 147 points in qualifying.
6. Past champions
In 2016, Fu Jiajun 9-4 J. Higgins
In 2017, N. Robertson 9-8 Cao Yupeng
In 2018, M. Allen 9-7 S. Murphy
In 2019, M. Selby 9-6 J. Lisowski
In 2020, M. Selby 9-3 R. O'Sullivan
In 2021, L. Brechel 9-5 J. Higgins
Today in history
On December 13, 2009, in the final of the British Championship, Ding Junhui won the championship 10-8 Nick Higgins, winning the fourth ranking championship and the second British Championship championship, breaking the ranking championship drought that had lasted for more than 3 years.
—— This section is provided by the outstanding "Dead as Autumn Leaves" teacher