John Higgins snatches back high break prize from Barry Hawkins in titanic Tour Championship semi-final tussle

The £10,000 prize money for the highest break of the Tour Championship changed hands on two occasions on Friday night, as firstly John Higgins' 137 was overtaken by Barry Hawkins' 140. Higgins then assertively responded by carving out a tournament-high 144 clearance. Indeed, Higgins had previously set the tournament high with a 137 in the quarter-final win over Xiao Guodong.

‘That is outrageous!’ – Hawkins lands huge fluke against Yuan

Video credit: TNT Sports

John Higgins and Barry Hawkins' Friday night encounter was not merely a battle for a place in the Tour Championship final, but it also unfolded like a shoot-out to claim the tournament’s high break prize.

In a tense but classy affair, the high break prize changed hands twice, before Higgins booked his place in the final with a 10-7 victory.

The Scot carved out a spectacular 144 clearance to become the first player in the match to open up a two-frame lead since the second frame, at 7-5.

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Moreover, in doing so, he beat Hawkins’ 140 from earlier in the game and registered the highest break of the tournament so far, which puts him in line for the £10,000 high break prize.

Indeed, Higgins had previously set the tournament standard with a 137 in his quarter-final victory over Xiao Guodong, only to be overtaken by Hawkins’ aforementioned 140.

The slew of century breaks did not stop there, as Hawkins registered a fine 125 and Higgins built on his 144 with a 130 and 107 to wrap up the victory.

'Shot of the century' - Higgins pots two reds with one shot to light up final

Video credit: TNT Sports

The other semi-final sees world No. 3 Mark Selby take on China’s Ding Junhui.

It was the 23rd occasion Hawkins and Higgins had met in their careers, and there was a lot of respect between the pair ahead of the encounter.

"I’ve watched a bit and a couple of the boys are saying it, he’s so robotic," Higgins said of Hawkins’ campaign in Manchester before Friday’s game.

"He just plays the same way, just pots, makes everything look easy, just doesn’t seem to have a hard shot because his positional play is so good.

"We had a good night in Hong Kong. I don’t drink now but I think he drank for double of me. The wives were there, we had a great night, up dancing, band playing."

While speaking to ITV, he added: "It’s good to see somebody like Barry because in the earlier part of his career, I don’t know if it was whether he got the recognition or respect or maybe it was his own self belief, but it’s good to see him now. He certainly does believe that he can win these big events.

"He puts his heart and soul into the game, he’s always been there, he’s one of the standard-bearers in the game over the last 10-15 years."

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