The final of the 2024 British Open will be contested today between John Higgins and Mark Selby. Although there were quite a few surprising exits in the early rounds, eventually, the two men still standing are both serial event winners, World, Masters, and UK Champions … and both are over 40.
Here are the reports by WST on how tthe day unfolded in Cheltenham
HARD LINES FOR OLI AS HIGGINS ROMPS INTO FINAL
John Higgins reached his first ranking event final in two and half years as he crushed Oliver Lines 6-0 at the Unibet British Open, remaining on course to become the oldest winner of a ranking event since 1982.
Lines had chances in most of the frames but struggled to find any fluency on the biggest occasion of his snooker career. Higgins was far from his best and made only three breaks over 50, but was able to use his massive experience as a tactician to out-fox his opponent.
The Scot will be up against Mark Selby or Mark Allen in the final on Sunday, and first to ten frames will bank £100,000 and lift the Clive Everton Trophy. At 49 years and four months, Higgins is looking to become the oldest ranking event champion other than Ray Reardon who was 50 when he captured the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.
Four-time World Champion Higgins has struggled for form in recent seasons and may have contemplated retirement. But class is permanent and – playing with a new cue – his game has clicked. He is into his 56th ranking event final and first since the 2022 Tour Championship when he lost 10-9 to Neil Robertson. The Wishaw ace is aiming for a 32nd ranking title and first since the 2021 Players Championship.
At the start of this week, Higgins dropped out of the world’s top 16 having been ever present since 1995. But his absence from the elite will last a mere seven days, as the £45,000 he is now guaranteed lifts him to at least 14th, and he now looks well placed for a guaranteed spot at the UK Championship and the Masters.
Yorkshireman Lines was playing in his first semi-final, but the 29-year-old couldn’t settle into the tie. The opening frame lasted 33 minutes and went to Higgins on the colours. In the second, world number 99 Lines led 43-39 when he made a safety blunder on the last red, and his opponent punished him for 2-0. A break of 57 extended Higgins’ lead, and in frame four he trapped Lines in a tough snooker on the last red, creating the opportunity to go 4-0 ahead.
Lines was unable to muster a fight back after the interval as runs of 64 and 67 sealed the result for Higgins.
“I’m delighted to be in another final and can’t wait to get out there tomorrow,” said Higgins, who won the British Open in 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004. “I have not won silverware for a few years and I just love the feeling of being the last man standing, that’s why I keep going. I am going to have a monumental game tomorrow, they are both immovable objects who are so tough to compete against. I hope it goes 6-5 tonight either way.
“I’ll give it everything. There have been points in the last couple of years where I have felt that I am not good enough to compete against these guys and get to the finals. I will savour it.“
Lines said: “Nerves got the better of me. I wanted to at least show why I made the semi-final. Even the easiest pots were looking so hard. I have played well all week and I hoped I could find something today, but mentally I didn’t give myself a chance, I didn’t handle it. You can’t play like that against someone of John’s class.
“John said to me at the end that it has been a positive week for me. I need to keep getting to these matches to gain more experience.”
SELBY TO FACE HIGGINS IN CHELTENHAM FINAL
Mark Selby said he is determined to enjoy the occasion when he meets John Higgins in the final of the Unibet British Open on Sunday, having beaten Mark Allen 6-3 in the semi-finals in Cheltenham.
Selby has been through tough times on and off the table over the past three years. He has struggled with his mental health, and wife Vikki was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, though thankfully she is now recovering. On the baize, his form slumped at the end of last season and he admitted he was considering retirement.
To play fellow all-time great Higgins in the final is a significant moment for Selby, particularly as he has not won a ranking title since the 2023 WST Classic, 18 months ago. But his attitude this season is to keep the game in the right context.
“I could wake up tomorrow and feel low, but while I am doing ok and things are good, I am trying to enjoy every day,” he said tonight after a fine win over world number three Allen. “That is my biggest challenge now, my only goal is to enjoy it. Obviously if I lose tomorrow I’ll be disappointed. But with everything I have been through, including Vikki’s illness, I look at the bigger picture and realise that snooker is just a game.”
The 41-year-old from Leicester is into his 35th ranking event final and aiming for his 23rd title. It’s his second consecutive final in Cheltenham as he lost 10-7 to Mark Williams a year ago. Success tomorrow would earn him £100,000 and move him one place up the world rankings to fourth. Selby and Higgins, with four world titles apiece and 53 ranking titles between them, will battle over a possible 19 frames for the Clive Everton Trophy.
Selby took the first three frames tonight with a top break of 105, and might have added the fourth but missed the blue to a baulk corner on 45 and Allen later made a 62 clearance to pull one back. In the fifth, Allen was on 47 when he missed the pink, and that eventually cost him the frame as Selby extended his advantage to 4-1.
Runs of 50 and 130 saw Northern Ireland’s Allen recover to 4-3, but in the eighth he ran out of position on 36 and Selby punished him with a 95. Again in frame nine Allen had first chance, but on 50 he went for a risky plant on a red to a top corner and missed the target, leaving the balls well-placed for Selby to make a match-winning 77 clearance.
Selby added: “It’s a huge win because it has been a long time since I have been to a final. Mark is one of the form guys of the last two seasons and one of the toughest match players. I have been more positive in my game over the last few weeks. I have practised harder so my timing is good, and also travelled around playing the likes of David Gilbert and Michael Holt to get match sharp. That has shown this week.
“John and I will be battling out there tomorrow, giving it everything. I have so much time for him, every time I see him we have a laugh and get on well. He’s one of the best I have ever seen and played against, and he has obviously played well to get to the final.”
Allen said: “Mark started well, he froze me out. It was a match that got away from me. The areas where Mark usually outplays people, I matched him and created a lot of chances. So it’s frustrating because I just didn’t take them, I broke down too many times on 40 or 50. You can’t afford to do that against him, I didn’t make him work hard enough. On another day I wouldn’t have made those silly errors and won 6-2 or 6-3. I will take positives because I probably did better against Mark on the safety side than I have ever done. One or two shots could have made a difference. I feel my game is in good enough shape and I’m looking forward to the next tournament.“
I watched the Higgins v Lines game and, indeed, Oli didn’t handle the situation well. He’s not the first, and he won’t be the last: many players have struggled in in their “maiden” really big occasion match. Some are destroyed by it1 , but many learned from it and I hope that Oli will be in this category. His game is very easy to the eye when he’s on form, he has the ability, he’s still very young and has his father, a hard match player, by his side. Regarding the clash of schedule with the Northern Ireland qualifiers, WST did the right thing: Oli’s match versus Josuah Cooper will be played at the main venue as a “held-over” match, and the winner of that match will then face Ricky Walden, also at the main venue.
I didn’t watch the evening match at all, not by choice but because I had a photoshoot booked yesterday evening at a musical event.
Judd Trump and Mark Allen have very much been the form players over the last year or so, but no player can stay at that level all the time. Dips of form are inevitable… and generally only temporary. They are human beings, not robots.
I’d like to see Mark Selby winning today.
- Zhou Yuelong is a prime example ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 