The semi-finals of the 2022 World Snooker Championships featured a high-profile showdown, with Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins meeting for the 77th time in their careers for fans to stage the long-awaited "Theo" for fans.
O'Sullivan had a slight lead of 38 wins, 35 losses and 3 draws in the previous meeting records between the two sides, but in recent years Higgins has the upper hand with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, and the last four meetings between the two sides have been Higgins taking the final victory.
At the beginning of the game, the two showed great importance to this matchup, Higgins took the lead in scoring the first pass to score the first point, and then O'Sullivan seized on Higgins' half-bench error and began to close the score, but unfortunately O'Sullivan lost the key side library red ball when he was about to overtake, and Higgins once again came on the field to present a wonderful K-ball to the super-score to achieve the opening.
In the second set back Higgins scored into the bench to take the lead and then made a mistake in the defense, O'Sullivan established a 40+ lead after the attack was interrupted, a you come and I after O'Sullivan attacked the bench fruitless and missed the opportunity, Higgins came up to complete the super score to achieve a single set reversal score to 2-0.
In the next set, O'Sullivan made a mistake in his position and angrily slammed the ground with his club, and O'Sullivan, who was fighting with himself, returned to the field with a forced attack mistake and was also angry, and Higgins once again took a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth set, both sides failed to get the mobile phone will be more and more chaotic, after a defensive battle Higgins took the lead to break the deadlock but helpless color ball mistakes, O'Sullivan came up to face the complex ball type and the black ball position is not ideal, around the powder ball continued to attack and blasted out a single shot 70+ to complete the super score 1-3 to win a set.
Higgins' hand slipped after the break, while O'Sullivan was getting better, first by completing 50+ through a second shot, and then in the sixth set, Higgins defended and leaked a ball directly up to complete the clearance and blasted the first shot of the game to equalize 3-3.
In the last two sets of the first stage, O'Sullivan first lost the seventh set by Higgins' tight defense when he had the opportunity to reverse, and then in the eighth set, he returned Higgins' accurate defense to get the mobile phone meeting, and finally completed the first stage with a 4-4 draw between the two sides.
Looking at the entire first stage of the two world champions can be said to have joined forces to stage a top battle, O'Sullivan is even more dissatisfied with his performance and angrily smashed the club emotional out of control scene, fortunately in the second half to find the feel and blast out of the hundred to avoid being pulled apart by Higgins, I have to say that the two 47-year-old veterans can still present such a high-quality duel can't help but sigh that it is really the older the demon.