WATCH – Higgins pulls off miraculous World Cup comeback against Allen after “one of the bravest shots ever”

John Higgins has qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship after an unlikely comeback. The four-time world champion had to chase Mark Allen for an entire match and was 62-0 down in the deciding frame, but then pulled off a touch of magic.

It’s no surprise that The Crucible can be haunted, just ask comeback king Luca Brecel. But the end of the match between Mark Allen and John Higgins again defied all imagination on Monday evening.

Allen, virtually number one in the world, was in the match for the entire match drivers seat against four-time world champion Higgins. Yet the Scot was able to pull off a decisive 25th frame at 12-12.

In that frame, Allen seemed to keep a cool head, but the Northern Irishman saw his break fail at 62 points. Higgins was able to attack the table again, although not a single red ball seemed playable.

But ‘The Wizard of Wishaw’ thought differently. With a phenomenal ‘double’ (a score via a cushion) he potted red and opened his break. “That’s one of the bravest shots you’ll ever see,” said the commentator on Eurosport.

What followed was a piece of snooker of the highest level. Higgins cleared ball after ball until only the green sheet remained. The crowd went crazy, the commentator called it “one of the best clearances ever”.

“This means a lot to me,” Higgins said after his win. “I have failed too often at the most important moments in recent years. I don’t know how I did it now.”

At the age of 48, Higgins qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship for the eighteenth (!) time. He will meet Kyren Wilson, number 12 in the world.

Thanks to his victory, the Scot also retains his place in the top sixteen of the world rankings. That is important for participation in some major tournaments and the status of seed at the World Cup.