John Higgins laments another poor display as he crashes out of The Masters - 'Unforgivable at this level'

ByEurosport

Published 10/01/2023 at 08:26 GMT

John Higgins' poor season continued as he crashed out of The Masters with a 6-2 defeat to Jack Lisowski. The two-time champion missed a series of pots at crucial stages of the game and was made to pay the ultimate price. Asked to reflect on his performance, Higgins said: "I missed a few balls. I've been saying it for the last year or two now: it's unforgivable at this level.”

John Higgins has accepted that some of the shots he missed during the 6-2 defeat to Jack Lisowski at The Masters were “unforgivable”.

The two-time champion missed a series of pots in crucial stages of the match, allowing Lisowski to take full advantage for his first-ever Masters win.

While Lisowski prepares to face Hossein Vafaei in the quarter-finals, Higgins was left to reflect on another disappointing result in what is turning out to be a season to forget for him.

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Asked to explain the defeat, Higgins said: “I'm trying a couple of little things in my match, and out there tonight your mind can start to go a little bit, especially at the start of the game.

“The table was difficult, it wasn't really sliding. It was squaring off cushions, and when you're struggling a little bit with your timing, it can catch you out a few times.

"I missed a few balls. I've been saying it for the last year or two now: it's unforgivable at this level.”

'Didn't get hold of the cue ball' - Higgins with astonishing miss against Lisowski

Asked if he will change his approach for up-and-coming events, Higgins responded: “I'm not really in the next few tournaments, so maybe I’ll have a think about things and then take it from there.”

In the Eurosport studio, Jimmy White stressed that he didn’t believe Higgins played badly, but that his opponent was just too strong for him on the night.

“I think Jack is just a handful for anyone at the moment, you know, and John Higgins wasn't at his best, “ White said.

“Jack punished him at every opportunity he got.

“Higgins is not playing bad. You don’t make a 142 if you’re struggling so his game is there. But I think Jack’s safety game was too good for him, and when he got in, he scored.”

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