Marco Fu beats John Higgins to win Scottish Open after stunning recovery

ByEurosport

Updated 18/12/2016 at 23:31 GMT

Marco Fu won eight straight frames from 4-1 behind to complete a stunning 9-4 victory over John Higgins in the Scottish Open final at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Stephen Henrdy presents Marco Fu with the Scottish Open named after him.

Image credit: Eurosport

Higgins had made three centuries in the first three frames, but somehow ended the first session level at 4-4 when he looked a certainly to lead ahead of the closing session.

Marco Fu: This is the best win of my career

From that point onwards, Fu was the dominant figure as Higgins began to make mistakes with his opponent producing breaks of 89, 59, 59 and 60 to win all five frames in the evening session and eight on the spin.

Snooker

John Higgins pots black... and a red in fianl against Marco Fu

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18/12/2016 at 15:09

It is Fu's third ranking event after the Grand Prix in 2007 and the Australian Open three years ago.

Fu escapes from a snooker with astonishing swerve

"It is probably the best win of my career," said Fu, who collects a first prize of £70,000 and the new Stephen Hendry trophy for his efforts. He made 11 centuries since the tournament began last Monday, and was a worthy winner.

It was a great occasion and I managed to play some good match snooker. It’s a dream come true.

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"I was fearing the worst at 3-0 down because the way John was playing was very difficult to contain.

"I was guessing I was going to be 7-1 down after the first session, I would have even taken 6-2. I was over the moon at 4-4, those three frames I won from 4-1 down were the most important part of the match."

Higgins enjoyed runs of 126, 101 and 100 to race 3-0 clear and seemingly leave him on course for a one-sided victory as he pursued a third Scottish Open title to go with his previous successes at the event in 1995 and 1996.

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But stemmed the bleeding with a run of 106 in the fourth frame before the four-times world champion Higgins eased 4-1 ahead with a timely run of 78 in the fifth frame.

Higgins - who recovered from trailing 5-1 to eclipse Judd Trump 6-5 in Saturday's semi-finals - appeared to lose concentration as world number 14 Fu kept his composure to claim the final three frames of the session, including a knock of 58 in the seventh frame and a 54 in frame eight.

John Higgins pots black... and a red in fianl against Marco Fu

Higgins must wait to move onto 29 ranking tournament wins since he turned professional in 1992. He remains on 28 with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Steve Davis in the all-time list of winners. The retired Stephen Hendry remains out in front on 36.

“I still felt good at 4-4 because I couldn’t have played much better," said Higgins.

"Marco ground his way back into the game and played some good safety. I still fancied playing well tonight but Marco shut me out. I’ve got no complaints because he played superb snooker. He put me in some positions I couldn’t find my way out of. He has been the player of the week and a worthy winner.

“The fans were fantastic so I’m just gutted that I couldn’t make it close for them and create a great atmosphere."