This morning, the semi-finals of the Snooker England Open ended, with Higgins beating O'Sullivan and Robertson eliminating Mark King. Tonight Higgins and Robertson will play the 17-game, nine-win final.
They were the same age, transitioned to the profession at the same time, and remained competitive after the age of 45, and they had been rivals for more than 30 years. They have won 37 ranking championships and one has won 31 ranking tournaments. Honours-laden O'Sullivan and Higgins met for the 73rd time at last night's Snooker England Open.
It was a high-calibre showdown, with O'Sullivan scoring a single 75 points at the start, Higgins scoring 104 points in the second inning and a single 54 in the third inning. In the next three innings, O'Sullivan scored 50, 69 and 108 points, Higgins scored a single 76 points in the seventh inning, and O'Sullivan scored 103 points in the eighth set to lead 5-3 and get the match point. The 103-pointer was also O'Sullivan's 1118th career break.
Higgins did not give up and showed great tenacity in the next three sets, especially the last two sets were won without a single high score, reversing O'Sullivan and advancing to the final.
It was Higgins' second time in the final after the recent Northern Ireland Open, after his 8-9 loss to Allen. The final with Robertson was the 53rd time in his career at the age of 46 that Higgins advanced to the ranking finals. If he wins, it would be Higgins' 32nd ranking title, with the Steve Davis Cup and £70,000 in prize money.
Higgins said after the game that it was a tough game and we both lost in the decider. I know sometimes it's easy for top players to make the watch game look easy and O'Sullivan is easier than anybody else, but when you're playing under pressure it's a tough game and it's nice to cross the finish line. Looking back on 30 years of playing, Higgins commented on this game and believed that this game was as special as the first time the two played, which was always the ultimate test for O'Sullivan.
Higgins has been successful in losing weight this season, and he went to the gym for an hour on the morning of the match against O'Sullivan. Higgins said he'd seen O'Sullivan go to the gym in the morning, and he might have been lying in bed all the time, but now that he's starting to work out, giving himself more energy, it's clear that Higgins isn't just thinner.
O'Sullivan, who will turn 46 next month, said Higgins deserved the win, he was good in the final moments and there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't disappointed, I had a great week and it was very fun and enjoyable to participate in some wonderful races.
Mark Williams, another player in the 75 Three, has also ended isolation and resumed training.
In another semi-final, Robertson defeated Mark King 6-4 to advance to the final. Robertson and Higgins have met only once in the ranking finals, in the 2013 Wuxi Classic, when Robertson won 10-7. In the two's previous big game meetings, Higgins had a slight advantage of 8 wins and 7 losses.
Final Fixtures (Beijing Time):
21:00 Higgins vs Robertson first half
The next day at 3:00 in the second half
17 rounds with a 9-win format