Players Championship 2024 snooker recap - Mark Allen beats Ali Carter after Zhang Anda stuns John Higgins
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Updated 23/02/2024 at 22:08 GMT
Welcome to live coverage of Friday's action from the Players Championship. John Higgins and Zhang Anda kick us off from 13:00 UK time on Friday in the last quarter-final, before Ali Carter and Mark Allen face off in a juicy clash in the last four from 19:00 UK time. Stream top snooker action live on discovery+.
Wilson 'over the moon' with Welsh Open triumph, White tips him for deep run at Crucible
JOINS US AGAIN ON SATURDAY
That’s it for our live updates today.
We’ll be back from 18.45 GMT on Saturday for live updates on the second semi final as Mark Selby and Zhang Anda battle it out to earn the right to face Mark Allen in Sunday’s final.
RESULT! - ALLEN 6-3 CARTER
Ali misses a long red to the bottom left and gets away with it, but moments later he attempts a very tough, fine cut on a red up to the green pocket and leaves it hanging for Mark to clip down. Allen then plays cautiously with a safety down to the bottom cushion and it pays dividends as he gets another half chance with a long-range red that he sizzles down to the bottom left.
The steal is on and he needs all of the colours to achieve it and book a place in the final. It's all routine and he finishes the job when the pink rolls into the bottom right and is followed by a cut on the black up to the middle left.
ALLEN 5-3 CARTER (24-55)
The Captain knows there’s no margin for error and mops up the routine pots to nudge towards the half century.
A split of the three reds remaining in the pack tee up a red along the bottom cushion. It’s another pressure moment as a miss would surely be curtains, but he tickles it down to the left before opting to retreat to baulk on 55.
There’s still a chance for Allen to steal this despite some heroic work from Ali there.
ALLEN 5-3 CARTER (24-0)
You could probably have predicted there would be another twist in this one. Allen looks to be in the box seat but given some of the issues both players have had tonight, a clinical, unwavering break to seal victory was never likely to transpire.
A miss on a tricky but make-able red up to middle left ends his surge on 18 and gives Ali a chance to keep this tie alive.
ALLEN 5-3 CARTER (6-0)
It’s a pressure moment for Ali as Mark clips in the opening red and dumps the cue ball up on the left side of baulk.
The Captain is on the back foot throughout an ensuing, tense safety exchange and makes another surprising error as he catches the brown with his cue attempting a long red.
Allen pops one in but once again his positional radar is off and he has to retreat to baulk again.
ALLEN 5-3 CARTER
Ali is tight to baulk but makes it look like a minor discomfort with a rasping long red to the right corner. A blue to middle left leaves him cueing off the left-side cushion but he produces another beauty to the corner again. He’s looking capable of turning this around on a run of 21 but then catches the green with his waist leaning into a shot.
It's a foul and Allen sweeps in to fire down the red he needs. It’s a two-frame lead and The Pistol is one away from the final despite some travails tonight.
ALLEN 4-3 CARTER (65-0)
Allen gets a nudge off a red near the left cushion he wasn’t planning but it doesn’t affect his position on the black to the right corner. He’s had a few moments like that in this match and it’s probably why he’s had the edge on the board despite being far from his best.
The pack is nicely spread so there’s routine red-blacks galore if he can develop more rhythm and flow, but he’s struggling to maintain position for more than a couple of shots which is making life tricky.
He battles on here and passes the half century before producing one of the pots of the match with the finest of cuts on a red down the left rail into the corner.
There’s no position on a colour and he opts for caution with a nudge off the green in baulk ending his run on 65.
ALLEN 4-3 CARTER
Mark breaks the impasse with a nice red up to middle right. He’s missed far easier attempts in this match but this one seems to settle him as he makes the most of an inviting table to once again nudge ahead with a break of 73.
ALLEN 3-3 CARTER (23-24)
Mark fires down an excellent long red and he’s back in to prey upon a run of red-blacks. On another night he’d sink these with a blindfold on, but tonight he looks a touch unsure and he loses the cue ball into the pack off a pot on the black.
ALLEN 3-3 CARTER (1-24)
Carter looks to take advantage but he’s having some off moments too. A black to the right corner sees him attempt the side screw into the pack, but he completely misses it and ends up in baulk.
The Captain will feel he’s been the better player and Mark has clearly struggled more, but those types of moments haven’t helped Ali and the match remains very much up for grabs.
ALLEN 3-3 CARTER (1-0)
Allen catches the blue from the break-off and leaves a mid-range red on to the bottom right.
Ali leans in for the shot but can’t force it down and there’s a reprieve for Mark, who guides a lovely red to the opposite bottom corner. He ends up right of baulk and has a choice of shots, but miscues the green to the yellow pocket. It’s been that type of night for him with a mix of good and bad.
ALLEN 3-3 CARTER (18-25)
There are giggles from the audience as Carter opts for a mega extension to cut in a red to the right corner.
It’s almost like a fishing rod, but he holds steady to land his ‘catch of the day’ (*gets coat) and it provides the platform for a frame-winning visit.
The rest helps him take care of the final red down the right rail and a bullet black to bottom left sizzles him past the half century. The pace takes him up to baulk for the yellow, but it’s a tough shot along the cushion and he can’t force it home. It doesn’t matter though as he’s done enough to once again reel Allen back in.
ALLEN 3-2 CARTER (18-25)
Ali gratefully mops up the easy red and a succession of routine red-blacks that Allen had done the hard work to tee up.
However, it all goes wrong when the pack splits and the cue ball sticks to a solitary red. There’s no way to go and after mulling over trying to nick the black near the bottom rail via the spider, he changes tact and clips the yellow up in baulk. Clever stuff from the Captain who can’t help but show his irritation at seeing the break end early.
ALLEN 3-2 CARTER (18-0)
Allen rockets a long red down the right rail to fully live up to his billing as The Pistol.
It provides the avenue for a decent early run but a surprising miss on a red to bottom right ends it prematurely and leaves it hanging over the pocket for Carter.
ALLEN 3-2 CARTER
Mark guns down a straight red to the right corner and slips the black to the opposite pocket.
The final red is tight to the cushion but he caresses it into the right corner before just about getting the right pace via the rest with a yellow to its home pocket to tee up the green.
The brown follows to the yellow pocket but he gets away with the poor position on the blue to fire it to the bottom right bag instead of the middle.
The Pistol breathes a sigh of relief from there as he clears up to the black and regains the lead with the memory of that missed red now vanquished.
ALLEN 2-2 CARTER (28-54)
Carter has been impressive when he has worked his way into a run and he sets about punishing that bad miss from Mark with ruthless efficiency.
The finish line looms close, but not close enough as a split into the three remaining reds goes wrong. It leaves him with a tough red to the bottom right with the cue ball tight to the left cushion and he can’t pass the far jaw.
It's a half chance for Allen.
ALLEN 2-2 CARTER (28-0)
Carter looks to continue his pre-interval purple patch but misses a long red down the right rail and Allen steps forward.
The Pistol cuts a lovely red to the bottom right and a blue to middle left before working his way towards the black.
He gets a kick that sees the cue ball jump on a pot on the black to the right corner. He works hard to maintain position but a make-able red up to the green pocket is a bad miss from his point of view and opens the door for Ali.
ALLEN 2-2 CARTER
Allen can’t take advantage with another fail on a long attempt and it’s Carter who regains control.
A delightful cut on the black settles him into a rhythm and he makes amends with the rest by cutting a tidy red to the left corner.
It’s routine potting mode all the way from there as red-black combos do most of the damage.
A yellow to its own pocket via the rest goes down with ease this time and the colours all follow as The Captain completes a clearance to make it all square at the interval.
ALLEN 2-1 CARTER (0-14)
It’s another slog of fine snooker for little reward on the board. Carter opens with an excellent red, tickles in a yellow and glides a red up to middle left.
A green to its home pocket is pretty routine but he comes unstuck on 14 when an attempt on the yellow to its home pocket via the rest misses by some way.
ALLEN 2-1 CARTER
It’s an inviting table initially for Allen and he takes care of the routine reds before some perfect judgement allows him to just about tuck a red to bottom left following the close, re-spotting of the black.
Two more reds around the black disappear with the minimum of fuss before a side-spin ricochet into the pack doesn’t quite go to plan.
He spies a way around it with a delicious plant on a red to the bottom left and that’s the key shot as he pulls well clear with a run of reds and blues.
The first of three remaining reds to the corner right ensures Carter won’t return and Allen regains the lead on the board with a 108 clearance up to the black, which he misses via a four-cushion exhibition shot!
ALLEN 1-1 CARTER (0-14)
It’s a mixed bag from Mark as he plays a brilliant safety tight to baulk, but then misses a long red to bottom right by some distance.
He leaves a red to the yellow pocket for Carter to gobble up and The Captain nails a brown to the same pocket to move down the table.
He pops down a stray red and sweeps in the green to its home pocket before taking care of an isolated red on the far right of baulk.
He’s working hard to keep the run going but it ends abruptly on 14 when a red through the pack up to middle right fails to go down.
ALLEN 1-1 CARTER
Allen can’t engineer anything of significance and The Captain sticks the landing with a controlled red to bottom left.
The blue to middle left is frame ball and it’s pretty routine. A red and black ensure Mark will stay in his seat despite a cannon into the final three reds that doesn’t come off for Ali.
ALLEN 1-0 CARTER (0-62)
Allen can’t take advantage of a poor break-off from Carter with a long red that refuses the invitation to drop into the corner left pocket.
The Captain seizes the initiative with the first red before clipping the green to its own pocket.
He screws back off a red to the corner left to take care of the blue to the middle left and from there he navigates position to prey off red-black combos.
There’s a tough long red down to the corner left that sizzles down with aplomb and also sees him land perfectly on the black.
That should be key – but it isn’t. He clips a red below the black on his next shot and it leaves him with nothing on. He ponders a risky one for some time but in the end he chooses to play safe up to baulk with the frame not quite in the bag.
ALLEN 1-0 CARTER
It may not be an opening frame of top-class snooker but it’s certainly one of great intrigue and drama.
Allen finally seals it with a lovely yellow before knocking in the green to that same pocket. The Captain does not get back out of his seat and it’s The Pistol that snares the opener.
ALLEN 0-0 CARTER (53-34)
It’s a miss apiece as Allen fluffs a long red up to the yellow pocket before Carter follows suit with a miss on one to the corner left.
The Pistol jiggles the jaws of the same pocket from mid-range and this time Carter does make him pay.
A lovely cut on a blue to middle right helps him wrestle back lost position but a tricky black shadowed by the penultimate red fails to fall.
Allen rolls a red to bottom left and a black to the opposite corner before laying a snooker on the final red near the foot of the table.
Ali misses it completely and then Allen makes a decision that almost costs him dearly. He opts to put Carter back in and this time the Captain flukes a double to middle right.
However, more drama ensues as Carter cuts the pink to bottom right with the rest but then turns to see the cue ball slowly roll to the middle left.
ALLEN 0-0 CARTER (35-26)
Ali responds with some equally sharp snooks in his first visit, eating into the lead and happy enough to clip in a blue to maintain prime position.
He eyes up a red that has a narrow path to the corner left as a result of the close proximity of the pink and black, and has another look before failing to nudge it past the near jaw.
Allen retorts with a lovely pot on a red that leaves him up in baulk, but he nestles in tight behind the brown to leave his opponent in trouble.
ALLEN 0-0 CARTER (34-0)
Allen quickly knocks in a tidy red to open before easing a pink to the left corner.
A red to the yellow pocket keeps the decent start running before a simple enough red to the right corner and a blue to middle allow him to prey upon a couple of red-black combos.
He loses position slightly on the cue ball but recovers beautifully with a thin cut on a red to bottom left.
He adds extra zip to a pot on the blue to try and cannon into the pack but it surprisingly doesn’t provide the split he wants and eventually he runs out of options and needs to retreat to baulk with a run of 34.
GOOD EVENING!
Welcome back to LIVE updates from Friday’s action at the 2024 Players Championship.
We’ve got the first semi-final of the tournament tonight with Mark Allen against Ali Carter.
The boys are at the baulk from 19.00 GMT.
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RESULT! - HIGGINS 4-6 ZHANG
Anda nails a red to the right corner and then refuses to let another opening go awry as he regains position with a superb rescue pot on a red to the bottom left bag.
A brilliant pot on the green to its own pocket tees him up perfectly for the final red to the middle right and he sends down the pink to the left corner to land neatly on the yellow. That’s sunk to its home pocket and it’s curtains for Higgins this time.
Zhang moves through the rest of the colours, sinking match ball via the brown, before completing a 55 clearance to beat his hero and reach the last four.
HIGGINS 4-5 ZHANG (31-19)
The stakes are high and it’s evident in the play right now with little fluidity on show.
Higgins tries to change that but a shocker of a miss on a routine black to the corner left ends his run prematurely when he looked on to potentially level up the match at that visit.
HIGGINS 4-5 ZHANG (24-18)
It’s been quite some time since Zhang had a really decent chance to develop a run, but he shows no nerves early on as a delicious fine cut on a red up to the middle right is another example of how well he has played today.
However, he ends abruptly on 18 with a wayward miss on a red to the right corner.
Higgins follows suit with a tough miss on a red to the green pocket to walk away to his chair with just six added to his lead.
HIGGINS 4-5 ZHANG (18-0)
Higgins is first to show with another belting red but it all comes unstuck when he fails to steer in a red to the corner right via the spider.
HIGGINS 4-5 ZHANG
Anda can’t pull off another attempt at a double and Higgins nicks the red up to the middle left to rub salt in the Chinese’s wounds.
Some sharp potting around the colours and a number of reds in the baulk area then ensure Zhang will remain rooted to his chair.
A sensational double off the lower right rail almost has spectators leaping out of their own seats with delight as a clearance of 71 ignites John's hopes of pulling off a very unlikely victory from 1-5 down.
HIGGINS 3-5 ZHANG (34-1)
Zhang gets a fluke with a safety attempt off adjoined reds that sees the one to the left fly to the middle left pocket. It doesn’t lead anywhere as he’s tight to the black, but he can at least make life tough for Higgins instead.
HIGGINS 3-5 ZHANG (34-0)
Higgins has really come to life here.
A stonking long red down the right rail has insane amounts of control and tees him to nail the green across to the yellow pocket.
A red south-west of the pink rolls into the left corner and then a blue to middle right keeps him ticking along nicely until he’s left slapping the cushion in frustration as a cannon into the pack goes wrong.
HIGGINS 3-5 ZHANG (40-39)
Higgins sends that final red down the left rail to the corner pocket and as he moves through the colours, he shows Anda how to do it with a sublime double on a pressure green. The Scot clears up to the black and all of a sudden there’s a bit of hopes for the four-time world champion.
HIGGINS 2-5 ZHANG (40-39)
Zhang teases a red to middle right and guides a routine black along the bottom rail to the right bag.
A red via the rest to the green pocket keeps him ticking along nicely and another one to that same bag gets a lovely secondary cannon to almost free up the green on that upper right cushion.
Zhang almost has the edge on the board, but a double on the final red fails to land in the middle pocket and the pendulum swings Higgins’ way.
HIGGINS 2-5 ZHANG (40-5)
It’s cagey stuff out there but Higgins comes up with a wonderful safety tucked under the black near the bottom rail to tease a slight error out of Zhang, despite a clever attempt to just nudge a red tight to the green on the upper right cushion.
Higgins pops in the only red on for him to the yellow pocket and looks in good shape, but an awkward lean into a red to the right corner ends his run on 19.
HIGGINS 2-5 ZHANG (21-5)
Higgins scratches his head and may well he be slightly befuddled.
He eyes up a long red hanging over the yellow pocket. It’s a narrow line for his approach but he gets it all wrong, clipping two balls along the way … but somehow he doesn’t leave it on for his opponent.
HIGGINS 2-5 ZHANG (21-5)
Higgins knows any failure on a high-risk attempt could be fatal but he plays with bravery and earns his reward with an excellent pot on a red up to middle right.
A brown to green and a red to middle left help him along, but the balls aren’t quite as inviting as he’d like and after a sharp black to the corner he opts for safety in baulk.
Zhang responds with an even better safety and a lapse form the Scot sees him go in-off to the right corner trying to clip a red south-east of the pack.
The Chinese can't do enough despite the present and can only manage a red before another safety exchange ensues.
HIGGINS 2-5 ZHANG
Higgins cuts an excellent red down the left to the corner to lay the table for a feast of routine red-black combos.
The penultimate red to the left corner clinches frame-ball and he guides a lovely final red down the right rail to keep his run going. He’s been starved of table-time for much of this match, so he looks to make the most of it with a very tidy 84 to reduce the arrears and stay alive.
HIGGINS 1-5 ZHANG (0-22)
There’s no let-up it seems.
Zhang sizes up a long red to the yellow pocket and sinks it with aplomb. He follows with a green to its home bag and makes full use of the whole table, clipping in a couple of middle blues either side of a crisp mid-range red to the left corner.
An explosive pot on the blue down to middle right allows him to cannon into the pack and split puts him firmly in charge.
The finish line is within sight, but that’s where plenty tend to blink. It happens here as he lands tight to a red that blocks off the routine black. The Chinese takes on a long blue to the yellow pocket but his misses by some distance. Lifeline for Higgins!
HIGGINS 1-5 ZHANG
Oh dear. Higgins takes on a long red up the rail to the green pocket. It jiggles with the jaws and then makes its way south to the corner pocket.
Zhang can’t believe his luck and pops it down before nicking in the black to get it back on its spot and lay another foundation for a potentially heavy-scoring run.
A pink to the bottom right leaves him tight to two reds in the centre and he has to line up a tricky red up to middle right. Do you back him? Of course, you do, given how’s he playing so far today. He guides it majestically into the centre of the pocket once again and it’s déjà vu seconds later with a red up to the opposite middle pocket.
A pot on the black to the corner even sees the cue ball glance a red and line up nicely for another to the bottom left.
It’s so calm and composed from the Chinese but his position goes awry with frame ball on his horizon. There’s a plant on but he opts to use the rest and take on a tough red to the bottom right. There’s tension in the air, but not from his point of view, as he fearlessly steers it home with the perfect gauging of the angle to leave Higgins facing Everest.
It's a tough watch for the Scot as Zhang gracefully clocks up a break of 95 to move within a frame of reaching the last four.
HIGGINS 1-4 ZHANG (9-1)
The murmurs of surprise from the crowd say it all as Higgins runs out of steam with a slender run of nine.
Zhang leans in with the rest to slam down a red and cannon at pace into the pack.
The gamble on the split doesn’t go as he was hoping and he settles on a long green to its own pocket, but this time he can’t execute.
It’s an inviting table for John; can he take advantage?
There's a quick answer to that as the Scot fails to add to his score and it's suddenly become a cagey tug-of-war for the initiative that both players have had chances to seize.
HIGGINS 1-4 ZHANG
Higgins returns from the interval and immediately makes a hash of a safety to allow Anda to knock a red down to the middle left.
A blue to middle right sees him come off two cushions to land on a long red down to the bottom right. It’s miss-able, but given the way he is playing, there’s no surprise to see him slam it into the centre of the pocket.
A sublime pot on the blue to middle left then sees him come off baulk and the left cushion to break into the pack and land on a red up to middle right. It’s a special shot that once again provides an opening that could see him prevail from this visit.
The black has broken free towards the left cushion, but Zhang plays off the pink to take care of a succession of routine reds. Steady work allows him to land above the black just shy of his half century and he manages to guide it down the rail to the corner pocket to get it back on its spot at a key point in his run.
Indeed, a simple black to the left corner turns out to be frame ball and it’s déjà vu for Higgins, who can only watch on as his opponent moves to within two frames of victory with a 104 break that ends when he can't quite squeeze the final red into the bag down the left rail.
HIGGINS 1-3 ZHANG
If that recovery on the yellow didn’t show just how much Zhang was feeling it today, then an explosive long red up to the green pocket certainly does.
It paves the way for another free-flowing run as he takes care of a nice spread of reds to suggest a frame-winning visit could be on the cards.
The fifth remaining red to middle right is followed by a ripple of applause as he downs frame ball.
The blue to the opposite pocket another red and the black to the bottom left means Higgins won’t return and the Chinese chalks up an 84 to extend his advantage.
HIGGINS 1-2 ZHANG (1-1)
Wow. Zhang leaves himself in a pickle when a pot on a red puts him without a colour underneath the pack of reds. He spies a recovery off three cushions that few would take on, but somehow finds a nudge on the yellow right on baulk to navigate out of danger.
HIGGINS 1-2 ZHANG (1-0)
Ouch. Higgins knocks in an opening but is his mood darkens when a tough shot through the pack via the spider sees the black clip the jaw of the bottom right pocket and stay out. It’s just not gone to plan for the Wizard of Wishaw so far today.
HIGGINS 1-2 ZHANG
Zhang quickly sets about eating into John’s lead and a lovely cannon into two adjoined reds - of the remaining three - earns him a ripple of applause as it pretty much makes him a red-hot favourite for the steal.
A penultimate red to middle right, black to bottom left and red to the same pocket leaves Higgins with a sinking feeling.
The Chinese clips the blue up to middle left and lands neatly on the pink which he despatches to the same bag. Zhang then completes the clearance and hits the front on the board.
HIGGINS 1-1 ZHANG (58-0)
It’s Higgins who is to show again with a run of red-green-red that sets him up nicely for some routine potting around the black.
A sublime red up to middle left keeps him firmly in the driving seat as he threatens to win the frame at this visit.
A similar red up to the opposite middle pocket suffers the same fate, but a pot on the black to the bottom right doesn’t quite provide the split he was hoping for.
A sudden torrent of hail rattles against the roof to disrupt Higgins’ flow and has him laughing that it’s like being back in Scotland.
He’s soon grimacing in frustration as a tough cut on a red to bottom left doesn’t make the grade and a run of 58 isn’t enough. Zhang is back in business with an open table at his disposal.
HIGGINS 1-1 ZHANG
Zhang quickly takes advantage of that miss from John and a flurry of red-blue combos get him into a flow.
A tidy pink down to the bottom right sees him hit the front on the board but he gets the screw back off a red to the bottom left all wrong. He’s not on the blue, but produces a superb recovery shot to glide down the green to its home pocket via the rest.
He's having to make regular use of the pink in place of that awkward black, but it’s steady work from the Chinese as the penultimate red and another pink put him out of sight.
There’s no slip-up on the final red as he uses the rest to cue it down to the bottom left to ensure Higgins will remain in his seat.
It’s all about the break tally from here and he clears up, expertly clipping the black to the bottom right with the rest, to respond with a 102 clearance.
HIGGINS 1-0 ZHANG (18-0)
Anda leave the cue ball in the bottom half of the table and Higgins’ eyes light up. A simple red to bottom left and a blue to middle is followed by a red to middle right and another blue.
The black is slightly out of commission near to the lower right rail and the Scot has to play for the blue again. He attempts to split the pack with a pot that cannons into the pink but there’s nothing easy on and he misses a red up to middle left by some distance.
HIGGINS 1-0 ZHANG
The face-off on pink means it becomes the longest frame of the tournament, but eventually it’s Higgins who takes it when a poor safety from Zhang leaves the pink over the bottom right. The Scot easily slots in the long pot and takes an epic 44-minute opener (not to mention the pause in play mid-frame for the medical emergency).
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (55-50)
A brief safety exchange sees Zhang leave the door open for Higgins, but he can’t pull off the long pot to the bottom right and on we go!
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (55-50)
Higgins nicks in the green via the rest and follows with the brown up to the yellow pocket. It’s an awkward shot as the pink on the right rail is an obstacle, but the World No.11 makes it count before taking care of the blue.
It’s all on the pink now, but he can’t take on the doubler he was playing for and has to opt for safety.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (43-50)
Zhang sinks the yellow to the middle left but then fluffs his lines on the green, leaving it on to its home pocket.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (43-48)
A rocket of a red to the corner kicks off John’s recovery bid. A blue down to middle right is followed by a red along the bottom rail. The positioning is superb as he comes off the black to cut a red to the corner left and really give himself a chance of the steal.
The four-time World champion guides the final red along the bottom rail to the left corner, but he can’t land on the yellow and needs to play safe after chalking up 28, coming down to leave the cue ball on the bottom deck and the yellow in baulk.
Zhang tries for the finest of flicks off the yellow but misses by a whisker on two occasions, adding to Higgins’ momentum in this frame.
The two fouls lead Anda to switch tactics but it’s the same result as he fouls coming off the right rail.
It’s fourth time lucky for the Chinese World No.13, who slaps fully into the yellow but doesn’t leave it on.
Higgins doesn’t quite have the same amount of fortune and a kiss off the blue as well as the cue ball catching the jaw of the middle right pocket, gives Anda a chance.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (3-48)
We are back underway following that pause for someone to receive medical attention.
The public have taken their seats and the players hope to be re-focused.
Zhang continues his run, making use of the red to guide a red to the bottom right via the rest, but it all comes unstuck on a break of 43 when he blows a make-able blue up to the middle right.
Higgins has a bit of hope here but the four remaining reds are close to the bottom and right cushions respectively, with yellow, green, blue and pink all off their spots.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (12-5)
Zhang thunders down a long red to the bottom right and is able to spy the blue to the left middle despite the close attention of the green to the cue ball.
It provides him with decent position on a red to the bottom right, which he sinks before an issue in the audience means play is halted.
The public begin to filter out.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (3-5)
Higgins produces a delightful plant on a long red to the corner right and it earns a rather large burst of applause.
Sadly for the Scot, it is too crowded around the black and the pink, which is close to the bottom right-right cushion, and yet again there’s no scope to build a break.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (2-5)
It remains a cagey opening to this quarter final. Higgins knocks in another red but the safety play has been excellent so far and neither player has been willing to take on anything with risk as of yet.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (1-5)
The first eye-catching pot of the contest comes via the cue of the Wizard of Wishaw as he bullets a long red to the right corner.
An unfortunate kiss leaves him with little to chew on though and he opts to play off the green to retreat to baulk once more.
HIGGINS 0-0 ZHANG (0-5)
John immediately leaves a red hanging over the corner left pocket and Anda routinely pops it down. Any hopes of a quick run to settle his nerves against an idol are thwarted, however, when he cannons into the blue on its spot, meaning he has to use the rest to play safe up to the baulk cushion.
Higgins then chucks in a surprising miss attempting to clip a red in the pack but it remains a frugal table early on and the safety game of cat and mouse continues.
GOOD AFTERNOON!
Hello and welcome to LIVE updates from Friday’s action at the 2024 Players Championship.
We’ve got a blockbuster up later with Mark Allen against Ali Carter (19.00 GMT) inthe first of the tournament's semi finals.
First up, it’s John Higgins versus Anda Zhang in what will be their maiden tussle.
The boys are at the baulk and ready to rock for this final quarter final ... NOW!
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