On December 12, local time, the 2021 Snooker Scottish Open came to an end. Higgins, who played on home, lost 5-9 to Belgian Brechel and still hasn't broken the "curse" of not winning in this season's final.
Reaching the final on his doorstep for the second time, Higgins still performed somewhat poorly. A brief "slump" in the opening gave opponents a great chance to win points, and Brechel easily made it 3-0. Higgins has been trying to improve his form and stubbornly chase points, but there are still unlucky mistakes in key moments, allowing Brechel to stretch the gap to six innings and take the lead in the match points. Under pressure, Higgins chased three consecutive sets, but unfortunately still could not save the huge gap, and once again passed the champion in his hometown game.
This is already Higgins' fourth runner-up this season. Previously, "The Witcher" has reached the final in the Northern Ireland Open and the English Open and the Championship of Champions, losing to Allen, Robertson and Trump respectively. With this trend, Higgins is likely to break the single-season five-Asia record set by O'Sullivan and Murphy.
After the game, Higgins reflected on his performance and also gave his opponents a high evaluation: "He (Brechel) performed so well today. I didn't start well, so he punished me fiercely. His performance is unparalleled. I've tried my best, but obviously not good enough. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to reach the final again, but it was still a bad performance. For the sport of snooker, it's good to have newcomers like Luca emerge. From this point of view, he is good for the sport. ”
Higgins will then move to the World Grand Prix, where his first-round opponent is world-ranked 24th-ranked Ford.
(Source: Sports Weekly, some of the picture sources network)